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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27343402">I Don't Wanna Be a Hero</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account'>orphan_account</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Sun &amp; Moon | Pokemon Sun &amp; Moon Versions, Pocket Monsters: Ultra Sun &amp; Ultra Moon | Pokemon Ultra Sun &amp; Ultra Moon Versions</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Self-Esteem Issues</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 00:48:19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>42,404</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27343402</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Leading an unmotivated life, as well as having low self-esteem, has hurt Sam. Hau takes her in after she awakens in Alola. Then he almost dies saving a friend's Pokémon and suffers a major loss. Sam is reluctant to be more than she is, but if Hau is to complete his island challenge, she'll have to push him along while finding her own footing.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>28</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Wait, This Isn't Pokémon Mystery Dungeon!</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Is she okay?" </p><p>That was a stupid question. She felt fine. Hell, she was warm sitting here. The feeling was nowhere near toasty-warm or hot-shower warm, but it still made her feel comfortable. </p><p>She shifted slightly and breathed in. </p><p>"Hey, get up!" </p><p>She scowled at the speaker's urgency. Recently, she got a new mattress for her bed. She should have gotten rid of the old one ages ago, especially after being stabbed countless times by murderous loose springs and shifting around uncomfortably on blankets piled between her body and the bed. As one would imagine, that new mattress became the best one she fell asleep on in <em> years. </em>It held her shape well enough and lulled her straight to sleep. </p><p>Why did her bed feel weird all of a sudden? <em> Something </em>poked around her bare skin. Concerning her more was her lack of a blanket. She never slept without one. Otherwise, she would feel bare. </p><p>A soft breeze, much unlike the blown heat that came from her bedside fan, slipped around her. It carried this odd scent, sulphury in nature, which caused her to make a face. She normally couldn't smell anything thanks to her home's poor ventilation. Thus she ended up with a constant stuffy nose, though she never forgot the scent of certain things. Could the aroma on the wind be… The ocean? </p><p>Her eyes snapped open and pupils darted upward. The sun beamed right into them. <em> Bad move. Really bad move. </em>She squeezed them shut, which led to an encounter with blinding white afterimages. She couldn't resist tracking them in the darkness. </p><p>"Damn it," she muttered. </p><p>She reopened one of her eyes. The wind blew all around her. Tiny green blades of… <em> Grass? </em> That was grass rubbing all over her lower limbs? <em> What? </em></p><p>"Are you alright?" There was that voice again. It possessed a youthful quality that cracked amid their speech. </p><p>She followed an imaginary trail from her torso to a pair of legs that rarely saw the sunlight to… Human feet. </p><p><em> I'm still human, </em> she thought. A tiny part of her hoped to see her features change as she examined them. Maybe her plain old legs would bend in a way to give her an animalistic shape or become all hairy or turn tiny and green like a Treecko's. …Or whatever. She always seemed to get Treecko when she played through the<em> Mystery Dungeon </em> games' quizzes. </p><p>"At least you're awake. You were scaring me there." </p><p>So she wasn't a Pokémon. <em> Darn it. </em>Why did her mind still compare this situation to anything that went on in those games? Her thinking she would be anywhere near a Pokémon was a terrible pipe dream. Reality would never allow anything as fantastical as Mew or Arceus or any of the legendaries to exist within it. </p><p>Her conclusions weren't answering the real question. Why wasn't she in her comfortable bed at home? </p><p>Perhaps she was half-sleep. That seemed logical enough. She was lying in bed running this strange scenario in her head. She just happened to sink her teeth deeper into her fantasies than she normally would. Nothing more and nothing less. </p><p>"My buddy here was worried you kicked the bucket." </p><p>She finally lifted her head. "I'm fine," she told the voice. A sense of confidence leaked into her words. she might as well as indulge in this lucid dream. "I'm just confused, I guess…" She met the eyes belonging to the voice and, without meaning to, froze. </p><p>A boy hovered over her. His eyebrows clasped together in concern. The first thing she noted about him was his hair. He kept part of it wrapped in a high bun. Chunks stuck out of the bun like leaves in a pineapple. Two strands framed his taupe brown face. </p><p>That seemed all fine and good.  What made her head do a tilt ended up being the hue of his hair. It appeared black at first glance. Her eyes strained against the sunlight the longer she sat there, and she noticed glints of dark green instead. He wouldn't be the first person she knew to dye their hair an unnatural color. And… Were those yellow hair clips on either side of his head?</p><p>The boy slid his hands into the pockets of his shorts. "'Confused', huh?" he said, grinning. "Me too. We found you lying here."</p><p>"Um…" Her confidence slipped away while she continued studying his features. Strangely enough, she found familiarity in them.</p><p>Okay, so, the whole <em> Mystery Dungeon </em> thing? It described her situation better than she expected. She just awoke in the wrong universe. Or perhaps she ran into a rogue cosplayer?</p><p>The boy brought one of his hands out of his pockets. "Um, here," he said, sticking it out at her, "let me help you up."</p><p>Her eyes flickered between his hand and her own. She hesitated. "I… Can get up myself," she said.</p><p>The boy dropped his arm. "Okay," he said.</p><p>A moment passed. She had advised herself that she got caught up in a dream, but the grass continued scraping at her skin. The wind whipped around her. Her reddish-brown curls wriggled in the air like Medusa's serpents.</p><p>She blinked. The next thing she knew, the boy squatted in front of her.</p><p>"If you're not getting up, I guess I'm coming down," he said. "Are you sure you're alright?"</p><p>The wind blew a chunk of her hair in her eyes. She brushed it behind her ear. "What's the opposite of "alright"?" she asked.</p><p>His pupils rolled to the top of his head. "Not… Alright?" he said. "I dunno. Why do you feel "not alright"?"</p><p>Her mouth clamped shut. What could she possibly say?<em> 'Wait, I know you?' </em> Sure. That would go down great with someone she just met.</p><p>"What's your name?"</p><p>She blinked. The answer slipped from her tongue before she could catch it. "Sam," she replied. "It's Sam." Her delivery sounded <em> atrocious </em> in her ears.</p><p>The boy lifted both of his hands. He made a motion involving them spreading in opposite directions before dropping his arms. "Alola!" he said. "I'm Hau!"</p><p>For a split second, she wanted to revise her previous statement. <em> 'Yes, and I'm Why. Is there a Who, What, When, and Where you'd like to introduce me to?' </em></p><p>"People don't wear heavy pajamas in hot weather, you know," Hau said.</p><p>Sam picked at her clothes. She wore a dark blue sweater with a silver crescent moon displayed prominently on its chest. Beneath it, she sported some shorts. Drips of sweat accumulated around her heavily-shielded armpits and rolled down her back and sides. </p><p>She scrunched her nose up in disgust. "I know," she said.</p><p>"Do you remember how you ended up here?" he asked. He fixed his legs so that he could sit cross-legged.</p><p>"I could've sworn I was in bed."</p><p>"Maybe you sleepwalked out of your house?"</p><p>"I don't sleepwalk."</p><p>"I remember one time when I sleepwalked. My gramps found me in the city trying to—"</p><p>"I <em> don't </em> sleepwalk," she repeated with more force.</p><p>Hau's pupils rolled up again. He put a fist to his chin. "She couldn't have been…" He trailed off.</p><p>Sam looked to the side. Her mouth fell open. "Wh-what…?" she sputtered.</p><p>The two of them sat together on a cliff. Some feet below, water smashed against the rocky flanks of land stretching out for some miles to the north. Beyond it, she made out the entrance to a waterlocked cave and the little patch of land next to it.</p><p>"The ocean?" she asked. </p><p>"Yeah?" he said. "What about it?"</p><p>She glanced upwards. A couple of trees with spiky bark were right behind her. Their droopy green leaves dangled high over her head.</p><p>"Palm trees," she said. "I've never seen one before."</p><p>Hau muttered under his breath. She managed to catch the words, "I wonder what the professor would say about this…"</p><p>"Professor?" she echoed. "You don't mean Kukui, do you?"</p><p>"Yeah," he said. "Do you know him?"</p><p>"I know <em> about </em> him," she said. What did Kukui study again? "He researches… Pokémon moves, right?"</p><p>He nodded.</p><p>"Why were you mumbling about the professor?" she said.</p><p>He scratched the back of his head. "Let's worry about Kukui later," he replied, standing up. "I'll walk you over to Iki Town. Gramps would know how to help you." With that, he stretched a hand out to her.</p><p>She chewed on her bottom lip. Her dreams were coming true! Sure, her adventure would start with this kid, of all people. But, hey, she was here in a brand new world.</p><p>She inhaled and held the breath in. <em> You can do this, Sam. Everything's okay. </em></p><p>
  <em> …I think. </em>
</p><p>She shook her head. <em> No. I know so. Let's do this. </em></p><p>She grabbed Hau's hand and he hauled her up. Once she got on her feet, he looked down. His eyebrows went up.</p><p>Sam's bare toes dug into the grass. She glanced up at him. The way his eyebrows stayed raised gave her the impression that he could be more confused than her.</p><p>Wait, she glanced <em> up </em> at the kid? Then again, she had never been tall growing up. It made sense that people much younger than she could be bigger than her.</p><p>As if reading her mind, he said, "How old are you, Sam?"</p><p>"I'm twenty-one," she said.</p><p>His pupils widened. <em> "...What?!" </em> She flinched at the crack that slipped into his voice. "You don't look your age. Wouldn't you be more…" He made a vague motion at her.</p><p>"'Developed'?" she finished.</p><p>"...Yeah," he said after an awkward pause, "that's the word."</p><p>Sam gestured at herself. "Are you kidding me? I finished going through puberty years—" She came to a stop. Admittedly, she never had been the healthiest person. She rarely passed up the opportunity to eat a snack, so she retained plenty in her… <em> Well. </em></p><p>But here? She possessed <em> nothing </em> of that sort. No thickness accumulated over years of inactivity, no leftover bits of acne… She effectively regressed to herself at a younger age.</p><p>"Oh my God," she muttered, grabbing the bottom of her oversized shirt. No wonder why she suffered in this weather. <em> "Oh my God!"  </em></p><p><em> I'll go through puberty all over again! </em> And? Could there be anything worse about redoing one's teenage years than that?</p><p>Laughter filled the air.</p><p>Sam winced.</p><p>Hau threw his arms behind his head. "If you're pulling my leg," he said, "you'd want to work on your comedy routine."</p><p>"Bu-but…" she sputtered. "I'm not… I don't…" She abandoned trying to say anything. It wouldn't come out. </p><p>That was how it was. Somebody reached out to her and her concerns got pushed aside. <em> Hahaha. </em> Funny how she got treated like a joke.</p><p>"Okay," she murmured, "fine. Be that way." She reckoned the grass to be a nicer shade of green than his hair anyway.</p><p>She kept an eye on his shadow. He stretched his arms and yawned. When his hands came swinging back down, he said, "Let's get a move on. Last I checked, Gramps was at home… He must've run out by now, th—"</p><p>"No need. I'll go find him myself."</p><p>"Okay, let's… Huh?"</p><p>She marched past Hau and onto the dirt path ahead of him. Her bare feet produced a curious pitter-patter on the road.</p><p>"Wait!" he called after her.</p><p>
  <em> No.  </em>
</p><p>"Sorry about what I said. I-it came out wrong."</p><p>She kept trudging forward. <em> Forget you. </em></p><p>"What I meant was that that's what I would've said if I didn't belie—" </p><hr/><p>
  <em> 'Who dare enters in the dark of day? </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Who's flicker is not led astray? </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Who could show that they have the right? </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Who could survive a true endless night?' </em>
</p><hr/><p>Sam's eyes narrowed. She spun around. "That music," she said. "Where is it coming from?"</p><p>Hau gawked at her.</p><p>
  <em> "Litten!" </em>
</p><p>A small black cat scurried to Hau from out of nowhere. It carried in its mouth a rectangular object. </p><p>He bent down in front of the cat. "Spit that out," he said. "It's probably her's."</p><p>Cats typically would ignore their owners. This one did as he asked, though. The device plopped sunny-side up in his palm. </p><p>"'Gateway to Heaven'?" he read off of its screen.</p><p>Sam went back over to him. "That's my phone," she said. "Could I have it back, please?"</p><p>He let her take it from him. He watched over her shoulder as she shut off the music, which had drifted into an instrumental section.</p><p>"I've never heard that song before," he said. "What's it about?"</p><p>She hugged her phone to her chest. "It'll remind me of my homeworld, I guess," she said.</p><p>"Home<em>world?" </em></p><p>She looked back up. "Hey, a Litten!" she exclaimed, slipping back down on her knees. She held a hand out to the cat. "I can't believe it…"</p><p>The Litten stuck its head over her fingers. Its nose and red whiskers twitched. True to its species, it possessed several dark red stripes on its forehead, with one marking running vertically over two horizontal ones. Similar red stripes alternated with patches of black fur leading down to its tiny paws.</p><p>She couldn't help smiling. Okay, so now this world caught her attention.</p><p>"Are you an <em> alien?" </em> Hau said, gasping. </p><p>Litten's red and black pupils dwindled in size. It jerked its head away from Sam.</p><p>"I smell bad, don't I?" she said.</p><p>It replied with a hiss.</p><p>"Guess I need a shower." She turned around to address its trainer. Her voice took on an edge. "Define your definition of "alien", kid. We're both biologically human. The only alien here is your fire-breathing cat."</p><p>He crouched down next to her. "About the kid thing," he said, rubbing the top of his Litten's head, "when I said you were "pulling my leg", I meant 'If you <em> were </em> pulling my leg.' Sorry."</p><p>She blinked. "You… Believe me?"</p><p>He grinned. "Don't worry about it. I've got a friend who got teleported across the sea once. I guess that happens with… Alternate realities too?" He finished with a shrug.</p><p>Sam's shoulders slumped. She glanced back up at him but avoided direct eye-contact. "Um, thanks, I guess."</p><p>"You're twenty-one?" Hau asked. "That's twice my age, you know. I'm—"</p><p>"You're eleven," she finished.</p><p>"Me and Litten here—"</p><p>"Who you must have gotten from Professor Kukui—"</p><p>"Are going on our island challenge—"</p><p>"Which starts here on… Melemele? It goes on for three other islands—"</p><p>"We're gonna be the very best—"</p><p>"Like no one ever was? To catch them is your real test and to train them is your cause?"</p><p>He grinned. "Um, yeah?" he said.</p><p>"Good for you." She dug through her brain. She recalled how the kid went through the region's trials alongside the protagonist from her time playing <em> Pokémon Moon. </em> Didn't something happen to him by the end of the story? Her mind drew a blank there. It was her fault for not touching that game in a few years.</p><p>She could, at least, recall the basic plotline of the games. A girl ran away with a Pokémon. The Pokémon held the power to open portals to other universes. An evil organization or two was after the creature. Perhaps that would be adequate information for her.</p><p><em> If Hau's the supposedly-unimportant rival and Lillie… Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's her name…? Who am I if she's the girl? </em> Sam nearly jumped when the idea entered her mind. <em> The hero?  </em></p><p>"Hau?" she said. "Can I ask you a question?"</p><p>"Yeah, what?" he said.</p><p>"Did anyone recently move in around here?"</p><p>"There's a house for sale down the road. I don't think it's been bought yet. Why did you wanna know?"</p><p><em> No way. </em> Either it hadn't been three months yet since Lillie first appeared here, or…</p><p>Sam shook her head. How could she be the protagonist? Back home, all she was was a college student going into her supposed fourth year. When not on campus, she stayed home.</p><p>Out of everything she could do with her life, she couldn't imagine being in a position where she would be held accountable for her actions. <em> I'd screw something major up, or get my butt handed to me in a real fight, or… </em>She refused to think about it further.</p><p>She jumped to her feet and paced over to the palm trees. She leaned on one of them. Its rough bark scraped against her skin.</p><p>"Are you okay?" Hau asked. As cheerful as he sounded, she could imagine the thoughts rolling through his head.<em> 'Really? What's she fussing about now?' </em> Her behavior could be trying his patience. Why should he keep wasting energy on talking to her?</p><p>"It's… It's nothing," she said. <em> It's everything. </em> "Let's go meet your grandfather." <em> Let's get this over with. </em></p><p>She went back down to the dirt path. Iki Town, she remembered, would be north of here.</p><p>Something warm came down on her shoulder. She glanced back and saw a hand. <em> Hau's. </em> </p><p>"Hey," he said.</p><p>This time, she met him in the eye. "What?" she said.</p><p>"You're not doing so hot," he said. "I can tell." </p><p>She frowned. <em> Not hot? I'm sweating my… Oh. Of course. I'm an idiot. </em> "Why do you care?" she said. "Aren't you annoyed with me?"</p><p>"'Annoyed'?" His eyebrows rose again. "Why would I be annoyed? I wanna understand what's going on."</p><p>He <em> what? </em></p><p>"All I understand is that you're from another universe, you have a phone I've never seen before, and you're confused," he said. "Is there anything I can do to help you? I don't want you smacking yourself in confusion."</p><p>She reached up to brush his hand off of her. In the brief moment where she felt his skin, a warmth seeped through her fingers.</p><p>He roped his arms behind his back. "I tend to eat when I'm upset. Maybe we could run to Hau'oli City before we see my gramps. Have you had a malasada before? </p><p>"'Sides, we'll be waiting a while for him. He got called out of the house today to deal with a rowdy Tauros." His voice wavered at the mention of the Tauros. He glanced away. "I don't know how he does it. That Pokémon could bowl into you and you wouldn't realize it until you've swallowed some dirt!"</p><p>Sam looked down at her phone. She clicked the power button on its side and its lock screen flashed on. A picture of a gray tabby cat in a faux-painted style appeared beneath an oval reading,<em> '12:45, 100%.' </em></p><p>Her mouth twitched. She clicked the screen off.</p><p>"What do you say?" Hau said. "Wanna tour the city?"</p><p>Her pointer finger trailed up the phone's side. A piece of metal plugged into the phone got in its way. She followed the wire attached to it down…</p><p>She grabbed at the wire's end. It halted midway down the phone's back in a tangle of black and white threads. </p><p>"My earbuds!" she cried.</p><p>Litten wheezed.</p><p>Hau glanced over at it. "Litten?" he said. "You didn't…"</p><p>It mewled pitifully and staggered to his side.</p><p>"You ate them?!" he shouted, snatching up his Pokémon. "What are you <em> doing?! </em> Spit those out!" He angled it so its head hung toward the ground while he patted its back.</p><p>Sam sighed. "It's too late," she said, pulling the dead cord out of her phone. "Thanks."</p><p>Litten continued coughing.</p><p>"You don't go around eating other people's things," Hau said. "Earbuds aren't even food!"</p><p>His Pokémon whimpered. Tangled-up strings dropped out from between its teeth.</p><p>Sam caught the strings before they hit the ground and cringed. Warm and sticky saliva coated the earbuds.</p><p>Litten hung its head.</p><p>"Sorry," Hau said, frowning. "I'm still learning how to take care of him."</p><p>"That's the third pair that's been ruined this month," she muttered. "I love cats, but come on…"</p><p>He chuckled a bit. "Maybe we both gotta learn a lesson here."</p><p>She scowled. "Keep Litten away from my stuff," she said, shoving her phone into one of her short's pockets. "Damn it."</p><p>He reached into his own pockets. "Alright, change of plans," he said, lifting a round object. "We're heading straight for Iki Town." The sphere grew in size. It was red and white with a black stripe and white dot along the middle. A poké ball.</p><p>She watched the ball. One short pause later, she said, "Don't we have to wait for your grandpa to get back?"</p><p>"It's fine. Litten was right, you know. You need a shower… And maybe a new shirt."</p><p>She crossed her arms. "Where would I get a new shirt from?" she asked.</p><p>He held the poké ball out at Litten. "I have some old clothes lying around. We'll see if one of them fits you."</p><p><em> "Your </em> old clothes?" she echoed.</p><p>A red light shot out of the ball and hit Litten. It pulled his form into itself. It likewise retracted back into the ball. Hau then put the poké ball back into his pocket. "Yeah?" he said. "What, are you afraid of catching a disease from me?"</p><p>"Well…" Sam's voice trailed off. She once again picked at her pajamas.</p><p>"I guess that settles it." He walked ahead of her beaming like the Sun. "Let's go!" Then he whirled around a corner down the path and disappeared.</p><p>She dropped her shirt. "O… Okie-dokie," she stuttered as she jogged after him. "Let'sa go."<em> I guess. </em></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Okay, look. I know people may be tired of my shenanigans. October was a bad month for me, leading to the original fic's deletion and a piss-poor attempt at a remake. </p><p>Please bear with me. I'm doing my best to regain my footing and will work as quickly as I can to get the original chapters out of the way so we can move on to the next segment of the story. </p><p>I don't want to give up on what I have yet, and I'm sorry if you feel this fic is a lost cause because of a mental episode. If you want new content while waiting for me to resurrect this story, check out the other fic, Seeing Red, that I brought back from the dead.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Welcome to Iki Town</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It didn't take long for Hau and Sam to reach Iki Town. The entrance was marked with a single flight of stairs placed after a pair of wooden archways.</p><p>Hau slowed to a stop under the first arch and waited for Sam to catch up. She shouldn't have expected him to wait for her. He flew up the steps the second she caught up to him. Somehow he leaped them two or three at time and never tripped.</p><p>At the top, he twirled around and yelled at her, "Come on!" He jumped up and down like a possessed pogo stick. "Get up here. It's this way!" </p><p>Oh, to be a kid brimming with endless energy. Nobody ever questioned their behavior. They were free to live out their childhood without a care in the world. <em>Normally.</em></p><p>The sun brightened the marble ahead. Her feet would burn up unless she sprinted over them like a madwoman. </p><p><em>There's nobody around to judge you besides Hau. </em>She hoped. <em>Let's do this. </em><em>Start running in three, two, one— </em></p><p>An orange shoe came flying down the steps. Sam yelped and scrambled before it could hit her. It landed face-up in front of the stairs. </p><p>"Sorry," Hau called after it.</p><p>"Why the <em>hell </em>did you do <em>that </em>for?!" she shouted, glaring at him. She picked up the shoe. It was a slip-on with two little areas between the first strap and sole. These would show a hint of skin were it on a certain <em>somebody's </em>feet. </p><p>"I'm helping?" he said meekly. </p><p>"Just because you throw a shoe at me doesn't mean I'll move faster," she said. </p><p>"I wouldn't hurt you on purpose. Just wear them up the stairs. I know how hot those stones get sometimes." He tore off his other shoe. "Here, catch this!" </p><p>It went flying. She threw out her arms. She wasn't sure what she would be using them for. Snagging it? Protecting her face? Both? </p><p>Sam heard a thump and looked down. His shoe landed just outside of the span of her fingers.</p><p>"...You didn't even try." Hau sounded a smidge disappointed. Oh, yeah. <em>Too bad</em> she didn't get hit. That would have been <em>hilarious.</em></p><p>"How should I react when I get stuff <em>thrown </em>at me?" she said. </p><p>
  <em>"Catch it?" </em>
</p><p>Sure. <em>'Catch it'. </em>It would have been <em>so </em>easy to snatch a <em>shoe</em> from the air. "I'd rather you throw a ball at me."</p><p>He reached into his shorts. "You wanna try that with Litten? Either you get it, or you miss and he comes out." He waved the poké ball at her and giggled. "I see either as a win. ...As long as doesn't land on your face. That would hurt."</p><p>Sam shoved her left foot into the fallen shoe. It went in without a hitch. <em>Huh. </em>She kicked at the ground. The shoe managed to cling to her. <em>Interesting. </em>She glanced back up at Hau.</p><p>"Hey," she said, "we might be around the same foot size."</p><p>"Really?" he said. "Cool."</p><p>She averted her gaze upon hearing his simple response. <em> God damn it. You shouldn't have blurted that out. You might as well mention the next irrelevant thing that pops into your mind. </em></p><p>"That means you'd fit one of my old shoes," he said, "Guess you're lucky I found you, huh?"</p><p>She paused. <em> Or… Maybe that worked out in my favor? </em></p><p>Despite this, Hau got a flying shoe to the gut when she ascended the staircase. It was an accident, she swore. </p><p>…Really. She did.</p><hr/><p>The Iki Town that Sam remembered from the games was tiny. There were only four homes and they were all situated either against a hill or a forest. One could hardly call it a town. "Village" would have been a better descriptor.</p><p>The Iki that she walked into instead came off more like a town. Small homes made of wooden logs lined the side of a giant hill. She counted at least a dozen of them. One dirt path connected each of the houses while another continued north.</p><p>"We're almost there," Hau said. "My grandpa's place is by Mahalo Trail."</p><p>"Mahalo Trail?" she said.</p><p>"Yeah," he said, slowing down so that she could keep pace with him. "It leads up to the Ruins of Conflict, where Tapu Koko, our island's deity, lives."</p><p>That name rang a bell. It... Helped the hero in some way, right…?</p><p>Ugh, <em>seriously?</em> It shouldn't be that hard to remember the plot of a <em>Pokémon</em> game! Then again, she loved the <em>Mystery Dungeon</em> titles and forgot details in their stories all the time. Like, who remembered <em>Sky's</em> filler episodes where Sunflora fought the infamous outlaw Haunter or Team Charm went up against Team AWD?</p><p>...Okay, <em>she</em> remembered those stories because she had played them a ton as a kid. <em>Mystery Dungeon</em> games tended to be more invested in their plots than the main series games, however. So why, <em> why, </em> couldn't she remember this one?</p><p>People wandered about Iki Town. As Hau and she passed them by, a few of them waved at the former. He waved back and continued on his way.</p><p>Sam ducked her head after staring at a few people. Their bright smiles made her feel odd, to say the least. She didn't know anyone who grinned like them back home. Being happy in public often compelled strangers to approach her, which often made situations interacting with said strangers awkward. Hence why she never did so.</p><p>"Hey," Hau said, "throwing shoes at each other is fun, but just run up those steps, alright?"</p><p>She looked along the path and found another staircase. This time it was a wooden one. "Great…"</p><p>"Once you're up there, wait around the platform outside my house. I wanna let the guys there know you're here." He turned away. "See you!"</p><p>"U-um… Wait."</p><p>He had started walking away when she spoke up. He twirled right back around. "Yeah," he said, tilting his head, "what's up?"</p><p>She gulped. Damn her mouth. "So-sorry about earlier," she said. "I don't usually take well to people joking around—"</p><p>"Nah," he said, putting a hand to his stomach where she had hit him. "Don't apologize. Not all jokes land right." His other hand reached for her shoulder and squeezed it. </p><p>She stared at him, and then at the hand on her.</p><p>"You know," he said, "we should've talked more about who you are before I dragged you anywhere."</p><p>"But…" her retort faded. The next thing she knew, Hau herded her toward the next set of stairs. </p><p>He lowered his voice while they passed by a group of younger boys wrestling in the grass. "You brought baggage with you when you came here. You don't need to unpack it all right now, but I do wanna help you."</p><p>
  <em> Is he even a little wary of me? </em>
</p><p><em> I doubt it, </em> she retorted. <em> He's been nothing but nice. </em></p><p><em> He's naive, </em> the other voice said. <em> Ditch him before you get hurt. </em></p><p>
  <em> Sure. Because that's worked out before. I don't want to make a fool out of myself in front of the town. And where would I flee to if I ran away? To Kukui's place? </em>
</p><p>
  <em> …I don't know. </em>
</p><p>"Alright, there we go."</p><p>Hau's voice brought her back to reality. She sat on the edge of a wooden platform with an elaborate white pattern at its borders. Both sides of the platform had a set of steps leading up to it, though she couldn't recall being taken up to them. She must have gotten more invested in her thoughts than she, well, thought. </p><p>"It's usually pretty quiet here," he said. "People don't come this way unless they need Tutu, we're holding the yearly festival, or they wanna visit the ruins." He crossed his legs pretzel-style. "The festival's tomorrow, by the way…"</p><p>That meant Lillie was here and there truly was no… The default names of the protagonists popped into Sam's brain. Elio and Selene. No Elio or Selene coming in to save the day here. And that meant…</p><p>She couldn't waste another thought on the idea. This had to be a mistake. Whatever cosmic force brought her here might have meant to drop her off elsewhere in the multiverse. Or maybe she wasn't meant to be elsewhere after all. They kidnapped a woman and doomed an entire region for laughs.</p><p>Hau kept babbling in the background. "It's in honor of our Tapu. We hold Pokémon battles, dance, eat, and party… What people usually do at festivals, you know?" </p><p>
  <em>What could I offer Alola?  </em>
</p><p>She blinked. Hau had moved to stand. She tilted her head at the little bounce in his step. <em>Either he's excited, </em> she decided, <em> or he has to use the bathroom. </em></p><p>"I don't know what you're planning to do next, but you should stick around for it," he said. "The festival is always a whole lot of fun." </p><p>She folded her arms. She indeed didn't know what to do with herself and would be stuck in this whole new world for the foreseeable future. </p><p>"How's the phrase go?" Hau said. "The more, the happier?" </p><p>She shook her head. <em> "The merrier."  </em></p><p>He nodded his own. "There it is. I could show you around the stands we usually set up!"</p><p>She gazed at the clear blue sky. "I'll consider your idea," she said. "I don't know what I'd do if I stuck around here anyway." </p><p>"Since you're new, you could figure something to do with yourself. You've been brought here for a reason, right?"</p><p>That thought of his gave her a bit of a pause. How would he know she might have been sent here to…? ...Haha, <em> no. </em> He was being the kid he was, and kids didn't always have the brightest ideas. Still, she turned to watch him. </p><p>"Maybe you could work with Lillie to help out Professor Kukui," he said. "Or maybe you could find a place in the city and find a job? The malasada shop's hiring, last I checked—" </p><p>"I'm <em> eleven,"</em> Sam said. "Who would let a <em> kid </em>work when most of them are schooling or training Pokémon?" </p><p>"You said you're twenty-one." </p><p>She jabbed a thumb at herself. "I don't look like it now, do I?" </p><p>He lifted his shoulders in a little shrug. </p><p>
  <em> "…elp!" </em>
</p><p>Sam frowned.</p><p>
  <em> "...Hel… me!" </em>
</p><p>She sat up. "What?"</p><p>"What what?" Hau echoed.</p><p>
  <em> "...ase!" </em>
</p><p>She turned around. An earthy path led into the forest behind them. "I heard it again," she said, tilting her ear upwards. </p><p>"What?" he reiterated.</p><p>She held up a finger. "Stop talking."</p><p>
  <em> "Help! I need—" </em>
</p><p>The cries sounded much louder now that she got an ear trained on it. "It's coming from the trail," she said. "I hear a—"</p><p>
  <em> "Help!" </em>
</p><p>Hau skyrocketed to his feet. "That voice!" he shouted. "I-it's…" He hesitated. A split-second later, he shook his head. "No. Don't think, do." He hurried forward.</p><p>"That doesn't sound like a good plan," Sam shouted after him.</p><p>He slid to a stop at the entrance to the trail. The high ponytail behind him bounced. "I won't sit here when I know who's yelling," he said. "She's in trouble!"</p><p>He sprinted into the forest. His footsteps faded to nothing.</p><p>Sam tensed. <em>Should I go after him? What if they need my… </em> She gritted her teeth. Oh, right. Calling 911 probably wouldn't work in this world. If anything, they had their own emergency number she would have to learn. <em> Darn it.</em></p><p>Should<em> you sit here and see if an eleven-year-old could do anything for them? You're an adult. Go watch over his shoulder. </em></p><p>
  <em> ...God, I hate me. </em>
</p><p>Sam got up and broke out into a run. The dirt scratched irritably against her feet. She went past the first line of trees and followed the path upwards.</p><p>The woods evolved from big bushy trees to palms the further she went up the trail. After going high enough, the bushy trees became relegated to isolated cliffs while the palms covered every inch of the land right off the path. </p><p>Up ahead, Hau yelled, "Hey! What's going on here?"</p><p><em> "Hau?" </em> the distressed voice yelled back. "Weren't you training on Route One?"</p><p>"Change of plans," he answered. "What happened?"</p><p>She climbed the last hill and exited the forest of trees. She nearly ran into Hau, whose eyebrows went up when she brushed against his side.</p><p>"It's Nebby! I brought it here to see the Tapu's ruins—" The voice sighed. "I can't explain everything right now. It needs help!"</p><p>A girl much taller than both Sam and Hau hovered around a cliff. She was clothed in a short white dress and an oversized hat. She clung to a small bag with a poké ball design on its side. Only one word successfully wormed its way into Sam's mind when she peered into the girl's despairing leaf green eyes.</p><p>
  <em> Lillie. </em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Up on the Mahalo Trail</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hau joined Lillie at the cliff’s rim. “Yeah,” he said through a thick breath, “that… Isn’t good.” </p><p>Sam came over. It took one glance down the cliff for her to retreat with a yelp. A massive roared down the chasm far below. Deeper rumbles reached her ears from the east. Perhaps it came from a waterfall? <em> It’s been a while since I’ve heard a crash that loud.  </em></p><p>“Has anyone here heard of guardrails?” she asked. “Someone could trip and fall here.” </p><p>“There’s the old bridge,” Hau said, “if that’s anything to you.” </p><p>She looked to her left. “That… <em> Thing,” </em>she said, swallowing the lump settling in her throat, “isn’t inspiring any confidence in me.” </p><p>How could it? The bridge connected them to the far side of the river. Nothing held it up other than two pairs of old wooden posts dug deep into the ground. The guardrails could be leaned on, but the bridge’s footing? A dozen planks or so were either fading in color. There were slight holes in the pathway. They were big enough to simply walk over but noticeable enough to tell that the bridge had been here for a long time.</p><p>“This isn’t safe at all!” Sam said. </p><p>“It is,” Hau said. “People use it all the time.” </p><p>She gestured at the pathetic thing. “In <em> this </em> state? If nobody checks on this, it could <em> kill </em>someone!” </p><p>He shook his head. “Somebody’s gotta cross it,” he said, pointing across the bridge. “Look!” </p><p>A trio of birds circled a shivering orb halfway across the bridge. The gradients on the orb’s body reminded Sam of a twilt sky. Its ear tufts, which covered its face, sparkled in a way reminiscent of starlight. </p><p>“A Cosmog…?” she murmured. </p><p>“I’m sorry?”</p><p>Sam glanced to the side.</p><p>Lillie stood there tugging on one of the blonde braids framing her face. “You didn’t just say…?”</p><p>“What?” Sam said. “Cosmog?” </p><p>The young girl’s pupils swelled as wide as discs. </p><p>Sam frowned. Cosmog, like Magikarp, knew useless moves like Splash. Magikarp had a way of defending itself, though, while Cosmog would faint the moment it entered a battle. It had no way to fight back and usually ran away from confrontations by teleporting, which Abra could already do and more. </p><p>“Yeah,” Sam said, “I know what a Cosmog is. What about it?” </p><p>“But <em> how?” </em>Lillie said, almost shouting. </p><p>“You guys talking about me?” Hau said. He had gone ahead of them and clung to the sides of the bridge. </p><p>“She knows who Nebby is,” Lillie said. </p><p>“Yeah, well, that’s Sam,” he said. “Sam? Her name's—” </p><p>“Lillie?” Sam cut in. </p><p>The girl went as stiff as a stick. Her eyes seemed to have grown larger. “You-you know who I am to?!” </p><p>She gulped. <em> That’s one way to introduce yourself.  </em></p><p>“I'd ask about Sam what she's on about if we didn't have bigger fish to fry,” Hau said. “How 'bout you guys sit tight while I grab Nebby?"</p><p>“The bridge—”</p><p>“It’s safe,” he said over Sam. “Watch!” </p><p>At that moment, a bird, a <em> Spearow, </em>broke away from Nebby’s crew of harassers in a blur of red and black. It dove for Hau’s head. </p><p>“Behind you!” Lillie said.</p><p>He twirled around and yelped. He ducked to avoid the Spearow’s outstretched talons latching on to his eyeballs. The bridge bounced under his weight as he landed on his hands and knees. </p><p>Sam squeezed her eyes shut. <em> What if, what if, what if…  </em></p><p>"I’m coming, Nebby,” Hau called out. “Hold on!” </p><p><em> No, </em> her thoughts said. <em> Watch him. You have to.  </em></p><p>She reopened her eyes. <em> But what if </em> <em> …  </em></p><p>Another of the Spearow arced away from Nebby. It twisted in the air, setting a course for the boy getting ever closer to the distressed creature. It was when it righted itself and went into a dive bomb that Sam yelled—</p><p>“Watch out! The other one!” </p><p>“What?” Hau said, almost looking back at her.</p><p>The Spearow screeched at him. </p><p>He yanked his neck back around. He screamed back in kind upon seeing the assaulting Pokémon and flattened against the bridge. “Not again!” </p><p>The bridge jumped when he dove to avoid the Spearow once more.</p><p>Lillie’s legs shook. She gazed into the deep blue river far below. </p><p>The lump in Sam’s throat melted into bile. </p><p>“Stay calm,” Lillie said, probably to herself, “he can do this. I believe in him…” </p><p>Sam folded her arms to her chest. She drifted to Lillie while kept an eye on the bridge. What would it be like if she were to run on to it after Hau? But her earlier perceptions of the bridge’s state prevented her from approaching. She didn’t care how safe he made it seem. Not all risks had to be taken in life, and this was one she wasn’t willing to pursue.</p><p>“Got you!” </p><p>The girls found Hau in the middle of the bridge scooping up Nebby. He pushed himself up with his other arm. </p><p>Well, if she wanted to do something, it was too late to. He had this all handled. If the Spearow gave him trouble in his retreat, he could always whip out Litten’s poké ball. There was nothing to worry about. Absolutely nothing<em> at all.  </em></p><p>“Nebby!” Lillie said when she saw the golden eyes of the small creature in Hau’s arms. “It’s saved!”</p><p>“He still has to watch out for the Spearow,” Sam pointed out. “I’m sure he could handle it, though."</p><p>
  <em> “Spear!”  </em>
</p><p>Sam might as well have cursed the would-be rescuer. The last of Nebby’s attackers screeched and flung itself upon Hau. It extended its talons for his head. </p><p>Hau ducked. He put up a hand to protect his face. </p><p>If someone were being attacked by a furious bird, where would they expect it to aim? Their cranium? Maybe the square of their neck or back? What about the high and messy ponytail in their hair? </p><p>The Spearow dug into the ponytail. It tugged at the band that kept it together and stretched its neck to get at one of the hair clips hanging over his ears.</p><p>“Ow!” Hau said, cringing. He switched to holding Nebby in one arm and swatted at it. “You sure pull hard for a little guy.” </p><p><em> “Spear!” </em> it cried. </p><p>He pushed on the bird’s head. “Get off!” </p><p>The Spearow let off a grumble at being denied a prize from this whole mess. </p><p>Lillie’s expression grew dumbfounded. Her stance relaxed. </p><p>Any tension left Sam’s body. “You’ve got to be kidding.” Maybe… This situation wasn't as bad as she thought it would be? Heck, this predicament seemed laughable now. She cupped her hands over her mouth. “Come on! Get out of there.” </p><p>Hau managed to nod. He rose to his feet. “Got it!” He began his walk back to Sam and Lillie’s side of the canyon. </p><p>The Spearow yanked at his hair. Its fellow attackers had long stopped their assault to watch its sad attempt at harming the young trainer.</p><p>“You don’t scare me,” Hau said, focusing on the road back to the cliff. “...Hey, what do you think of building a nest up there? It’d be neat, I think!”</p><p>The Spearow screeched. It flared its wings. Its pink beak glowed white.</p><p>Sam gasped. She opened her mouth.</p><p>“It’s going to peck you!” Lillie said.</p><p>“Wait, what?!” Hau said. His fingers dove into one of his shorts’ pockets. “Guess I’m gonna havta— <em> Ow!”  </em></p><p>Spearow mashed its face into his hair. It ran it through the strands trapping its talons. Once loose, it spread its wings and took flight. It went into a glide past him.</p><p>“You don’t know the meaning of gentle, huh?” he said, holding the spot where it got him. </p><p><em> What do you expect, </em> Sam thought. <em> It’s a wild creature! </em></p><p>Spearow twirled around. Its beak glowed brighter. </p><p>“Alright, Litten,” Hau said, whipping out its ball, “you’re—” </p><p>Its buddies shrieked battle cries. They joined it in its dive toward him. </p><p>The ball fell back into his shorts. He tucked Nebby under his arm like a football and took off running toward the girls. “Nope nope nope nope nope nope…!” </p><p>Nebby squealed. White light flared around it. It shorted out as quickly as it came to life. As it died, another light emerged. But this time, it came to be a much brighter glow. The bridge heaved under Hau as the flash exploded from Nebby’s body. </p><p>Sam’s eyes grew wide. </p><p>“Nebby!” Lillie yelled. <em> “Don’t!”  </em></p><p>The glow around the fleeing duo puttered out, but the damage had been done. A dozen planks, starting from the middle of the bridge, broke off. They dropped into the rushing depths far, far below. The rest swung down, splitting into two halves. And one of them took Hau with it. </p><p>Sam couldn’t yank her eyes away. Her vision swarmed with heat. <em> Oh God— What if— How would I— </em>Nonononononononono... </p><p>
  <em> “Yah!” </em>
</p><p>Hau tensed. He kicked his foot down and used the force of the planks collapsing beneath him to propel himself into the air. It didn't give him much to work with, yet he got a grab on another plank that still dangled from jittery rope strings.</p><p>The plank did a little hop when he put his weight on it. It gave him the height he needed to reach a rock protruding from the cliff. He heaved his upper body on to it.</p><p>The girl’s mouths fell open. </p><p>“He’s okay?!” Lillie said. </p><p><em> Maybe he can do this! </em> A voice buried in Sam’s mind said. <em> Maybe he’ll live!  </em></p><p>But… Something felt wrong. Where was... </p><hr/><p>
  <em> It surprised her how easily the memory came to mind. As her character plummeted toward the river, a yellow blur zoomed out of an orange sky. A trail of crackling electricity followed it as it dove after her.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> The electricity zapped at the Spearow on her tail. They fled to who-knows-where.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> As for her? </em>
</p><hr/><p>Sam peaked up at the sky and down at the river. <em> Koko? Where… Are you? </em></p><p>Hau struggled to keep a firm grip on both the loosening plank and the rock. He readjusted his grip on the rock and jumped from the plank with Nebby still under his armpit. He paused when he got there.</p><p>Tremors poured through him. He took in deep breaths to offset them. Sam couldn’t tell if the shaking came from exertion or fright. Perhaps it could have been a combination of both. </p><p>“Nearly there!” he said. She had no trouble hearing him. He hadn’t ended up that far down from the top. “I just gotta…” He considered the Cosmog he carried, sucked in another breath, and looked up. He smiled the brightest smile she had yet to see on another person. </p><p>
  <em> Why do I feel like he’s got a stupid idea? </em>
</p><p>“Heya Sam!” he called, rolling Nebby from his armpit to his hand. “Howzit going?”</p><p><em> Oh. </em>Because he did. </p><p>“Catch this!” he yelled.</p><p>She held up her hands. “What?” she said. “No!” </p><p>Too late. He angled his arm behind him and, like a catapult, sent Nebby flying into the air. </p><p>His ammo traveled upward. It screamed. </p><p>She couldn’t breathe. Her lungs didn’t want to. But her body complied with his request, and she held out her arms. The image of a crying Cosmog, with its mouth wide open in a scream and its ear tufts swinging wildly, dropping into the blue abyss below filled her mind. </p><p><em> No! </em> She thought. <em> Don’t think about it! Do!  </em></p><p>She stared down the incoming ball and stretched her hands out as far as they would go.</p><p>Nebby broke past the top of the, crying out its last breath. It reached the top of the arc it got thrown at. It waited for its bitter end to come as gravity yanked it down.</p><p>Something jumped out and grabbed Nebby's sides. They pulled it back from the abyss below.</p><p>“Go-got you!” Sam said, scrambling away from the edge. She set Nebby down on the ground. </p><p>The poor thing shook. It looked up at her with watery eyes.</p><p>She slung out breaths. <em> I did it.</em> I did it! <em>Holy— </em></p><p>Lillie rushed over to scoop Nebby into a hug. “Oh, thank goodness!” she said. “You’re okay!” </p><p>It threw itself into her chest. It whimpered. </p><p>Sam hurled her neck beyond the edge of the cliff once more. The river far below zoomed in and out of her vision. She gulped and steadied her shaking body by gripping the ground.</p><p>Hau used his newly-freed hand to give her a thumbs-up. “Hey,” he said. “Great job!” </p><p>“I-I don’t think there’s anything we can do for him,” Lillie said, her voice growing soft.</p><p>Sam’s nails scraped up small mounds of dirt from how stiffly she clung to the edge. She rolled them out and watched them disappear into the ravine far, far below. <em> He shouldn’t have been on that bridge. Maybe the one who should’ve saved Cosmog… They should’ve been…  </em></p><p><em>Me?</em> It made sense. If the true protagonist of the games didn’t exist… </p><p>She couldn’t be a hero. <em> Never.  </em></p><p><em> I’m sorry! </em> Try as she might, she couldn’t render those same thoughts into words. They felt so <em> wrong. </em></p><p>One of Hau’s grips on the rock slipped. He grunted and threw his free arm in the air, only to find smooth surfaces all around him. He shrank into himself.</p><p>“Lillie?” he said. “Sam?” His grey eyes filled with life even with impending doom closing in on them.</p><p>It hurt to watch. Sam felt she was about to be struck by a heart attack. </p><p>“Hey, Sam? Listen to me.” Hau breathed in, and he breathed out. He grabbed the rock with his free hand. It trembled from the stress he had put it through. “I-I don’t… Think I’m gonna hang on until help arrives. My gramps’ name’s Hala. Send him after me. He’ll know what to do… You know?” </p><p>The hand he had been struggling with slipped off again. He shifted to accommodate the loss as his grin faltered. “Can you promise me that?” he said, insistent. “Make sure he gets Litten.” </p><p>Sam’s vision watered. </p><p>“I promise!” Lillie yelled, probably having sensed the other girl’s unwillingness to speak.</p><p><em> You should’ve been the one hanging by a thread there. Stupid! Pathetic! Useless! If you were supposed to die today, you could’ve at least done </em>some<em> good in the world. </em></p><p>“...Sam?” Hau said. </p><p>“I’m sorry,” she murmured, turning away.</p><p>The yelp she heard next would haunt her dreams for the next eternity. </p><p>She buried her being into her knees. She braced for the harsh splash the kid’s body would make upon hitting the river. Forget the waterfall; he would be dead long before he reached it. </p><p>The cries of the Spearows high over their heads would never compare to the passion of the one that split the open air. </p><p>Sam stiffened. She tore her face from her legs.</p><p>Lillie gasped. “Look!” </p><p>“Phantom,” another new voice ran through the ravine, <em> “get ‘em!”  </em></p><p>Pain erupted from Sam’s neck when she pulled it upward. She blinked away the incoming tears and scurried back to the edge. </p><p>Another bird joined the Spearow watching from the air. It overshadowed the rest in size and spread its wings wide when it sped past them. Brown plumage with a scattering of white dots blanketed its backside. </p><p>The Spearow screeched at the sudden intruder. They darted away at the mere sight of it. Their cries echoed as they scattered into the woods beyond the other side of the broken bridge.</p><p>“A <em> Decidueye?” </em>Sam said. </p><p>The giant owl’s noggin couldn’t be seen thanks to the green hood on its head, but there was no mistaking its identity. <em> Deci-du-eye.  </em></p><p>The Pokémon uttered a powerful screech. It entered a dive. It rushed after Hau and extended its talons. </p><p>Hau screamed with it. His limbs dangled from his sides.</p><p>Phantom the Decidueye zoomed down to him. It angled over him and threw down its feet. The world stopped as their forms came together.</p><p>Sam almost put a hand to her dropped jaw to make sure she was still breathing. They were so far down that she assumed their bodies met when the water would have consumed Hau.</p><p>The two figures hovered over the mass of blue. Phantom angled its wings up and began to rise. It carried Hau a few feet in the air, and then spun to its side. It soared alongside the cliff face.</p><p>Hau screeched incomprehensibly. He swung from its talons.</p><p>Phantom took a sharp u-turn and shot back into the sky, ignoring the rescuee’s cries. It beat its wings until it broke past the top of the cliff. From there, it drifted to Sam and Lillie and deposited its catch next to them.</p><p>Hau hit the ground with a thud. He grunted as if he were in pain.</p><p>“I don’t even…” Sam couldn’t find the words to finish her sentence. She bent down in front of him. </p><p>He blinked at the others. </p><p>“You’re okay!” Lillie said, scooting to his side. </p><p>He sat up. Every little inch of him trembled like a wet dog. He gasped for air.</p><p>Lillie tugged him into a hug. Her chin rested in his hair. “I’m so glad...” she said. “If you died saving Nebby…”</p><p>Phantom the Decidueye landed next to the group. It folded its wings against its body and eyed the three kids.</p><p>Hau wrapped his arms around Lillie. He uttered a strange-sounding gasp. </p><p>Sam inwardly cringed. She didn’t know him well, but she knew that sound. He was… </p><p>“You have <em> no idea </em> how crazy that was,” he said, letting another sob. “I didn’t… I wasn’t…” </p><p>“Please don’t blame yourself,” Lillie said. “You did great out there.”</p><p>“If I had listened to Sam…” Hau’s voice cracked. “I wouldn’t have had to be saved.”</p><p>“You were <em>amazing</em> out there,” Lillie said. “Right, Nebby?” </p><p>Cosmog squeaked out its response from someplace nearby. </p><p>Phantom's beady pupils flickered over Sam. It cocked its head. Perhaps it wondered why she remained silent?</p><p>“Good job, Phan!” </p><p>Everyone looked up. On the opposite side of the broken bridge stood a tall figure. They wore a green cowl shaped at its ends to be as pointy as the Decidueye’s. It covered their face and extended into a cape that rolled down their back.  </p><p><em> Really? That get-up in this weather? </em>Although, Sam was one to talk when still clothed in her heavy pajama shirt. </p><p>The stranger brought their hands, both gloved, up and spread them back out in an arc. “Alola!” they said. “You guys alright?” </p><p>Hau bounced to his feet. He shook all over still but greeted them with the same sweeping gesture. “Alola,” he called back. “Th-thank you!” </p><p>Phantom held a wing up at the stranger. Two of its top feathers popped out, mimicking an “OK” hand sign. </p><p>“I’m glad to see you’re not a pancake,” the stranger said. </p><p>Like that, Hau’s sudden burst of enthusiasm wilted. No doubt he imagined what that would have been like. <em> “Right…”  </em></p><p>“You know what they say,” the stranger said. “Look before you leap. Only your Pokémon would’ve been in danger if you stayed put. We could’ve extracted it for you.” </p><p>Sam crossed her arms. <em> Too bad you came a little late for that!  </em></p><p>“Sam?” Hau said, turning to face her. He hung his head. “You’re the one who told me not to go on to the bridge. I didn’t listen. I’d understand if you’re upset with me.” </p><p>She clenched her fist. “I’m not angry with you,” she said. “I’m upset with myself. You shouldn’t have gone after Nebby. <em> I </em>should have. You wouldn’t have almost died and Tapu Koko would have been here instead of that Decidueye and—” </p><p>“Sl-slow down!” he said. “What did you say?” </p><p>She went quiet. Then, she sniffled. And then… Warm tears came pouring out of her eyes. </p><p>Something grabbed her arms. It pulled her forward. She fell into softness. </p><p>“We’re all okay,” Lillie said as Hau pulled Sam into their group. “That’s all that matters.” </p><p>Although, that didn’t stop the crying. Just as Sam fell into tears, Hau did as well. He held her and Lillie in a hug.</p><p>“I don’t think it’s been an hour yet since we met,” Hau said, chuckling. “We’re already getting into crazy situations, huh?” </p><p>“Phan, it’s time we leave.” </p><p>Everyone glanced back at the hooded stranger. </p><p>“Already?” Lillie called.</p><p>They nodded. “You kids aren’t about to get yourselves in danger again, are you?” they said. “I best be off, then.” </p><p>Hau nodded. He wiped away the wet obscuring his grey eyes. “Who are you, anyway? Some sorta superhero?” He added in a quieter tone, “He’s kinda got the get-up for it.” </p><p>“He’s a guy?” Sam said to him.</p><p>“Seems like it to me,” he replied.</p><p>“I’ll believe it when I see it,” she said.</p><p>“You don’t have a name?” Lillie shouted to the stranger.</p><p>A moment passed where everyone was just standing around looking at each other. Sam pulled off of Hau.</p><p>Finally, the stranger shook their head. “You don’t need it,” they said. “I don’t need yours either.” </p><p>“I wanna call him Decidueye Man,” Hau mumbled to the others.</p><p>“...Whatever you say,” Sam said. </p><p>Phantom spread its wings. It flapped with them back into the sky, only to turn back around to glance one last time at the kids. </p><p>The stranger withdrew a red and white poké ball from a belt around their waist. A rosy beam of light hit Phantom. It absorbed its form and pulled it back into the ball. With this done, they placed the ball back to the belt and spun around. </p><p>“Take care of yourselves now,” they said. “Be seeing you!” They jogged down the road toward the Ruins of Conflict. The trees ahead swallowed them whole, and they were gone. </p><p>A hush fell over those who remained on the other side of the destroyed bridge. They exchanged looks with one another. </p><p>Hau went limp. He took in and let out a series of quick breaths. “What in the world just happened…?”</p><p>Lillie fixed her sunhat. “Okay," she said, sighing, "do either of you <em>feel</em> alright?"</p><p>Hau clutched at his chest. “My heart’s beating a million miles an hour."</p><p>Sam nodded to confirm. She had felt it thumping during their group hug. </p><p>“I’m glad we’re fine,” he said, “but…”</p><p>“Yes?” Lillie said. </p><p>“It was cool to play the hero until Nebby blew up,” he said. “I’m never doing something that dangerous again.” </p><p>She shook her head. “I see differently,” she said. “It was brave of you to go out there. Thank you.”</p><p>Nebby peeped in kind.</p><p>Hau gestured at Sam with his head. "And I guess if we're giving credit, then I didn’t do all of the work. If she hadn’t caught Nebby…” He shuddered. “I don’t wanna think about it. </p><p>Sam met his eyes. She moved on to Lillie’s. </p><p>“Yes, um… Sam, I believe?” Lillie said. “Thank you too.”</p><p>“You’re… Welcome?” she answered.<em> I guess?  </em></p><p>Lillie looked away. </p><p>Sam glanced in the opposite direction. Something told her they weren’t going to fast friends. Maybe they would be better off that way. </p><p>“Hey,” Hau said, “I’m not selling you short, Sam. You shouldn’t either.” </p><p>Could he be right? She made a difference, even if it were a tiny one. What would they do if Nebby never evolved into— <em>The box legendary! It’ll either be a Solgaleo or Lunala when it fully evolves. We need to protect it until then. </em>Especially with those groups she couldn’t remember the names of looking to use it for whatever purpose. </p><p>“If you don’t mind me saying this,” Lillie said, “you’re strange, Sam.” </p><p>She winced. If they were to safeguard Cosmog, they would have to deal with Lillie. Too bad she already felt awkward around her. <em> Oh sure. Why don’t you go straight to calling me stupid as well?  </em></p><p>“‘Strange?’” Hau said. “Maybe. But…” He made a point to drag out his last word when Sam hesitated. “I like her. We just gotta give her nudge.” He jabbed her lightly on the arm with an elbow. “Right?” </p><p>She pulled away. “I get the point,” she said. </p><p>He lowered his arm. “Nah,” he said. “The point needs to be wedged in some more.” </p><p>“No.” </p><p>Lillie stepped away from them. “I suppose I should go find the professor. I’ll see you two later.” </p><p>Hau waved after her. “‘Course,” he said. “See ya!” </p><p>The girl completely clad in white picked up her Pokémon. She twirled around on her heel to stride down the trail. And then, she was gone.</p><hr/><p>Hau slumped to the ground when they could no longer hear Lillie’s footsteps. He looked over the wide-open chasm. “That was fun,” he said. </p><p><em>“How </em>was <em>that </em>any fun?” Sam asked. </p><p>He folded his arms. “What I said was it <em> was </em>fun,” he said. “You don’t stare into the face of death every day.”  </p><p>Her eyes narrowed. She settled down next to him. </p><p>“I meant “fun” as in <em> sarcastic </em>fun,” he said, then waving his hand. “...Nevermind. It’s not a good time for jokes. Gramps would never let me hear the end of it if I went up to him and said, ‘Alola, Tutu! I nearly kicked the bucket!’”</p><p>Alright, he coaxed a bitter chuckle out of her. “I thought you were going to die,” she said. “You shouldn’t have been on the bridge. <em> I </em> should’ve been there. <em> I </em>should’ve gone after Nebby.”</p><p>“Hey, no,” he said. “Don’t blame yourself.” </p><p>She inhaled sharply. <em> If only it were that easy. </em>She didn’t care if he didn’t understand. She had to say it. “You had to take the role of the hero because I was stupid,” she said. “I thought that bridge would’ve broken right when you got on it, but I guessed wrong because my head is scrambled—” </p><p>She squeaked in surprise when she got pulled back into something soft. A warmth pressed on the square of her back. </p><p>“Stop it,” Hau said. “Let’s not play the blame game with ourselves. All that matters that I— Nah, <em> we </em> did it. <em> We </em>saved Nebby.” </p><p><em> ‘You almost died,’ </em>she wanted to point out. It wouldn’t happen. An oddly rigid feeling clutched at her. The feeling grew stronger the longer she sat by him. </p><p>“No offense,” he said, “you haven’t acted your age.”</p><p>“None taken,” she said. “I don’t think I’ve ever even felt like an adult.” </p><p>“...Huh.”</p><p>Silence. A small army of clouds made their way across the sky. Sam followed them on their march until their front line obstructed the view of the sun. </p><p>“Sooooooo…” Hau said. “Remember how you said you don’t know what to do with yourself now that you’re here in Alola?” </p><p>“Yeah?” she said. “What about it?”</p><p>He grinned. “How’d you feel about tagging along with me through the region?"</p><p>Sam sat back. She went on watching the clouds. </p><p><em> Maybe it wouldn’t hurt for me to try something new. Maybe I could build a Pokémon team of my own? </em>She had always seen team-building as fun. In one game, she could breeze through the story with her starter and nothing else. In another, she could use one type. And in yet another, she went nuts with her line-up, up to ditching the starter right away. <em> If this is my reality now, I could be a real trainer!  </em></p><p><em> Yes! Why didn’t I realize this sooner? </em> If she were given the option to go through the trials, she wouldn’t take it. The game’s formula of running to and fro a region to take on challenges wore out its welcome years ago. However, she could still get a Pokémon like Hau’s Litten or Lillie’s Cosmog. And from there<em>, she could see the rest of this world and the creatures it had to offer. </em>She would be an absolute fool to pass up this opportunity. </p><p>“Hau?” she said. </p><p>“Yeah, Sam?” he said, removing his arm off of her.</p><p>“You know what?” she said. “I think I’ll go with you.”</p><p>He shot up to his knees. <em> “Really?!” </em>he shouted in a way that only a kid could. His voice cracked at the end.</p><p>She couldn’t help it. She snickered. </p><p>He laid a palm over his throat. “I hate when that happens,” he said, jumping to his feet. “Let’s get back to Iki. I need something to eat after all of that excitement.” </p><p>She followed him up. “Lead the way,” she said. </p><p>He nodded. One eyeblink later, he slowed to a stop at the trail’s exit and motioned for her to follow. </p><p>Sam blinked a second time. When he started balancing on the tips of his toes, she sighed, shook her head, and rushed after him.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Pokémon Picking</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“I should’ve said this before I ran off,” Hau said. “I’m glad to have you onboard, partner." </p><p>Sam jogged with him down the trail. She managed to keep despite his height giving him a speed boost. <em> He sure is giving me a workout today. </em> She rarely exercised because she found the motivation to. Yet she couldn't help smiling through her huffs and puffs. <em> On the bright side, you aren't stuck living with </em> them <em> anymore. </em> Her smile grew. <em> I'm free.  </em></p><p>Back home, someone would have complained about <em> something </em>by now. They always did. She had to hear it. </p><p><em> 'Throw away everything in that closet or I'll do it myself!' </em> But then <em> he </em> failed to follow through on his threat. He always did.</p><p><em> 'Eat dinner or I'm not feeding you anymore, assholes!" </em> But then <em> nobody </em> did, he got angry, and he bought another box of pasta to cook with marinara sauce the next night. </p><p><em> 'Grandpa's a dick!' </em> her mother would turn around and often say to her. Yeah, and? Tell her what she didn't know. Or, <em> 'Get a job!' </em> Which meant, <em> 'Pick up my slack. I'm too lazy to file for unemployment.'  </em></p><p>Her family's grievances never ended. They wanted her to do <em> something </em> and do <em> everything </em>all at once while they moaned and sat around. Nothing mattered more to them than being upset.</p><p>Sam picked up speed. She barely registered Hau's yelp of "Whoa!" when she blew past him. Guess it sucked to be her family. Nothing else mattered to her more than being away from that mess. </p><p>Hau caught up to her with relative ease. "You're sure amped up!" he said. </p><p>"You'd be too," she answered, "if you realized how much your life's changed in the past…" She slowed down and took out her phone. </p><p>It showed a new image from her gallery whenever she activated its lock screen. Instead of the tabby cat, she found three rows of pictures all featuring a boy with black hair and red eyes. There were a pair of black wings verging on teal on his back. The wings in each photo couldn't be seen in full thanks to the portraits being near-equal sizes. </p><p>This didn't matter to her. All she cared for were the boy's expressions. They numbered nine in total. A third of them showed him in various states of anger, with raised fists and flared wings. One had him in pain, another showed him with his head thrown back and mouth wide open in ridiculous shock, and two she once liked to refer to as his "cat eyes". </p><p>She saw the expression in the upper right-hand corner. Heat rose in her cheeks. </p><p>"Who's that?" Hau asked, leaning over her. </p><p>She clicked the screen off. "It's nothing," she said. </p><p>He crossed his arms. His posture mirrored the straightened stance the boy took in the last photo. He smiled instead of smirking like him. </p><p>Sam glared back. The heat spread all over her face. <em> What is wrong with me? </em> She shouldn't be embarrassed. These were pictures of a random video game character and they would <em> stay </em> pictures of a random video game character. She got over him years ago. Hell, it felt wrong to have a crush on him after she entered high school because of his physical age. He would most likely stay thirteen years old for the next few decades thanks to his divine blood and <em> someone's </em>unwillingness to make a sequel to his game.</p><p>"Nah," Hau said, "it's something alright. Who's the dude?" </p><p><em> This is what you get for not clearing out your gallery, you idiot. </em>"It's nothing," she said. </p><p>His smile dropped. "Really?" </p><p>Her eyes narrowed. </p><p>He stepped away. "Okay, fine," he said, showing her his raised hands. "I'll lay off." </p><p>
  <em> Hallelujah. </em>
</p><p>They slowed to a walk. The trees around them transitioned from palms into the lush, green, and bushy kinds. The dirt marking the trail irritated Sam's dried-up soles feet. She wouldn't be surprised to find them cracked later. </p><hr/><p>They finally left the woods behind. Spotting the wooden platform outside of Hau's house gave Sam an odd sense of comfort despite being a homebody. It both marked a form of civilization and the end of their earlier troubles.</p><p>A man watched them leave the trail from his perch atop the platform. He unfolded the pair of sunglasses in their hands. A lab coat dangled from his shoulders that, strangely enough, didn't have any buttons or strings sewn in. This left it wide open for the world to witness his bare, shaved chest. </p><p>She got a good look at him and a numbness worked into her skin. She fell behind Hau again. Whatever earlier heat vacating her cheeks returned.</p><p>"Ah," the man said, sliding his sunglasses onto the bridge of his nose, "there you are, cousins." </p><p>"'Cousins?'" Sam murmured, thrusting her phone back in her pocket. </p><p>"Another word for "friend" here," Hau said. </p><p>"What are you hiding from me for?" the man asked. He gestured at them. "Come here. I'd like to talk to you." </p><p>Hau walked forward, depriving Sam of her shield. "Professor," he said. "Howzit going?" </p><p>"I'm doing well," he said. "You?" </p><p>Hau looked over his shoulder at Sam. </p><p>She stuck her arms behind her back and grabbed one of them. Her toes sank into the dirt.</p><p>"It's a long story," he said. </p><p>The professor nodded. "Lillie told me what happened on the bridge. I'm glad to see you're still with us." </p><p>He ducked his head. "We-well…" </p><p>"It was brave of you to put your life on the line for a defenseless Pokémon. Thank you, Hau." </p><p>"Kukui, really," he said. "I-it was nothing." </p><p>Professor Kukui laughed. "Aren't we being modest?" he said. "Old Hala will be proud of you when he hears of this." </p><p>Hau tossed his chin back up. "I didn't do everything," he blurted out. "Did Lillie mention <em> her?" </em>He pointed at the girl with him. "She helped!" </p><p>"She did mention your friend," Professor Kukui said. "She asked me to thank the both of you." He hopped from the platform. His green sneakers kicked up a mound of dirt. </p><p>Sam swallowed as much air as she could without her chest heaving. </p><p>"Lillie also told me you may know more about Alola than you're letting on," he said, approaching her. "I'd ask how if I weren't curious." He jabbed a thumb at himself. "You know who I am, kiddo?"</p><p>Somehow, she didn't hesitate. "You're Professor Kukui."</p><p>He nodded. "And you are?" </p><p>"Sam, sir," she said. </p><p>"Nothing fancy?" </p><p>She squeezed her wrist. "It's short for Sammy. Everyone back home calls me Sam. I like it better… Sir." </p><p>"Don't call me "Sir". "Professor" or "Kukui" is fine." </p><p><em> Could I refer to him by his full</em> title…<em>?</em> It occurred to her that she didn't know his first name. That was a trend when it came to <em> Pokémon</em>'s professors. The only ones she recalled having "canon" names were <em> Samuel </em> Oak and <em> Augustine </em> Sycamore. <em> Would it hurt to ask him?  </em></p><p>"Hey, Kukui," Hau said, stepping between them. "She's kind of a long story. Maybe I could…?"</p><p>"You don't have to say anything, Hau," Kukui said. "I'd like the facts straight from the Mudsdale's mouth."</p><p>Sam gulped. <em> Here goes, I guess? </em></p><hr/><p>"...And that's everything that happened up to this point," Sam said.</p><p>Kukui blinked. </p><p>Hau rolled Litten's poké ball between his palms. </p><p>A silence, broken by nothing except for a breeze, bowled on through. Sam pushed her messy hair behind her ears. Her eyebrows knit together at the ends of the delicate strands. She had never been one for keeping her hair neat, hence all of the split ends she found. She debated picking at them before picking a glance at Hau. She decided against it. They shouldn't see her rip her hair out for no discernable reason. She needed to kick the habit anyway.</p><p>She finally got a reaction from Kukui. "Twenty-one years old," he mused. "What were you up to before you came here?"</p><p>"College," she said. "I'm a social science major." <em> If that means </em> anything <em> to </em> anybody <em> here. </em>She took it up solely to avoid taking a foreign language. English, and the occasional Spanish thanks to seeing it through in middle school, was a language she struggled enough with.</p><p>Kukui nodded. "Well, lucky you," he said. "You get to relive your childhood." </p><p>She dropped her hands. "You believe me?"</p><p>"I've never seen anything looking like that creature before."</p><p>Sam's phone's lock screen exhibited a green dinosaur with a gigantic snout and glowing golden eyes. He hunched over the ground, seeming weighed down by the white wings on his back.</p><p>"Yoshi?" she said. "He's a video game character from my world." </p><p>"What about that dude I saw earlier?" Hau piped in. "The one with the black hair and get-up? Is he a guy from—" </p><p>She almost glared at him. "I thought you wouldn't badger me about that."</p><p>He laughed. "Right."</p><p>"This doesn't explain how you know about Alola," Kukui said, "unless you have Pokémon in some capacity back home." </p><p>Her phone screen shut off on its own. She held it closer to her. "...You're right," she said. "I can't keep that a secret with the way I'm going."</p><p>Hau and Kukui gave each other looks.</p><p><em> "Pokémon </em> is a <em> fictional </em> series back home," Sam told them. "It has all sorts of media tied to it. Two of their most popular mediums are video games and anime. They're why I know what Nebby is. Name any Pokémon up to when they gave us the Galar region and I can tell you everything I know about it." </p><p>"Oh, cool," Hau said. "Do you know what Litten evolves into?" </p><p>Kukui clicked his tongue. "Wouldn't that ruin the surprise? Train him and see for yourself." He rested a fist under his chin. "What <em> do </em> you know about Nebby, Sam?" </p><p>Hau held up his hand. "Whoa, no," he said. "Hold it. You know Kukui and Lillie from those games. What about me?" </p><p>Sam swore she saw Kukui's eyelid twitch. She understood not having one's concerns addressed right away. The information was so close, yet still out of reach.</p><p>She chose to humor the youngest of the three of them. "I know you from those too," she said. "Though I'm not as familiar with you all as I'd like to be."</p><p>He frowned. "Why couldn't you have told me you knew all about Pokémon?"</p><p>"How would you feel if when we first met, I said, 'Hey Hau, I know you from my world's <em> Pokémon </em>cartoon," she said. "Did you know your grandfather let a sleeping Rowlet continue battling your Decidueye when falling asleep disqualified your Pokémon in previous seasons?'</p><p>"...Since did I remember wanting to hit my head on the wall over a stupid battle featuring you from the show, yet not remembering you from the games?" Sam made a dismissive gesture. "Maybe that's not for you to worry about unless a certain Ash Ketchum is coming to Alola?" </p><p>Neither Hau nor Kukui answered her. So much for a get-free-out-of-jail card. If Ash were here, he and his pals would fix whatever mess the region was about to get into. They <em>always</em> did.</p><p>"So I must have landed in one of the game universes," she said, sinking her head into her folded arms. "Except I can't remember what those games were like beyond the minor details."</p><p>"Minor details," Kukui said, "such as Cosmog, yeah?" </p><p>"It has to be protected until it can evolve—" </p><p>Hau cut her off. "Where's Lillie? Don't you think she should hear this?" </p><p>"I sent her back to the lab," Kukui said. "I wanted to make sure she wasn't in any danger." </p><p>"I don't blame her," Sam said, "I <em> am </em> dressed like a street urchin and <em> was </em>saying their names." Perhaps she would have to apologize to them the next time they ran into each other. </p><p>Sharp and heavy creaking reached her ears. She twisted around. </p><p>An older man ascended the steps to the yard. He shared Hau's skin tone and spiky bun hairdo. The hair on his head and face were a much more normal white than green. </p><p>"Hey, Hau," she said. Once she had his attention, she motioned at the man. "Is that who I think it is?" </p><p>"Tutu!" Hau cried.</p><p>Hala smiled under his box-shaped mustache. "Alola!" he said back.</p><p>His grandson scooted off the platform. He shouted a loud and clear "Alola!" back as he met with Hala in the middle of the road. From there on, Sam couldn't understand any of the words slipping out of his mouth. Going by the region she awoke in, <em> I'm assuming he's conversing in Hawaiian?  </em></p><p>After a short discussion, Hala put a hand on Hau's shoulder and pulled him aside. </p><p>She got her phone again to open her internet browser. Still, she remained attentive to Hau's side chat.</p><p>Hala placed his other hand on Hau's opposite shoulder. He lowered his voice. </p><p>Hau spoke back in a whisper.</p><p>They traded words this way for a while. At one point, Hau hung his head. She swore she heard another sniffle come from him. Poor kid. She had already put him through a lot.</p><p>Hala took him in for a hug and patted his back. He murmured more to him. It was nice to see Hau had a parental figure in his grandfather, even if brought on questions as to where his real parents were. </p><p>She wanted to be jealous of their display. <em> As if </em> her grandparents would comfort her in her times of need. When they saw suffering, they either kept to themselves or threw in comments about needing to clean the closets because why not? They valued their lives and their home above all else, blood relatives be damned. If those old farts even loved <em> each other </em> was beyond her. </p><p>As she always did, she kept those thoughts to herself. There was no need for anybody to hear her troubles. They always had their own to overcome.</p><p>Hau and Hala's conversation got a whole lot louder. It started with Hau, finally in English, asking, "I'm not in trouble, am I?"</p><p>Hala considered him. Sam could barely make out his pupils behind his slits for eyes. "Hau," he said, "why would I be mad for you?" </p><p>"I put myself in danger," he said.</p><p>"To help a friend," Hala said. "You exhibited courage by defending your friend's Pokémon." He let him go. "Our Tapu must be mighty proud of you."</p><p>Hau dragged a sandal through the dirt. "Th-thanks, Tutu." </p><p>Sam stuck her phone back in her pocket. Halfway inside the space, her fingers brushed over a slippery surface not belonging to the phone's hard, cold metal or her shorts' soft cotton. Neither did it bounce back like skin or give her the sticky, gross feeling her ruined earbuds did. She dropped her phone and went for the source. </p><p>"Who might you be, dear?" </p><p>She whipped her hand out of her pocket.</p><p>Hala came over. She noted his long unfastened robe littered with floral designs. Thankfully, he paired it up with a sky-blue shirt instead of going bare like a certain other someone she knew. </p><p>"I'm Sam," she told him. "Aloha?" </p><p><em> "Alola," </em>he said. </p><p><em> "Alola," </em> she parroted. <em> Get it together! This is the Kahuna you're talking to.  </em></p><p>"Hau told me about you," he said.</p><p>"Cool," she replied. <em> I guess.  </em></p><p>"What's more," Hala said, "he's willing to take you along on his journey. However, there is one last problem for you to overcome." </p><p>She shuddered. <em> Problem? </em>"Which is?" </p><p>"You don't have your own Pokémon!" With that, Hala whipped two standard poké balls out of nowhere. He threw them at the platform beside her. </p><p>The balls blew open. Two shapes formed from them. </p><p>When the light around the one to her left faded, she found an owl with tiny orange feet. Twin leaves hung from its breast like a bowtie. It cocked its head sideways. </p><p>A seal emerged from the other ball. There was a white-bluish frilly rounding its neck, giving the impression of it wearing a clown collar to go with its pink bubble nose. It rocked on its stomach squeaking out a "Pop!" </p><p>Sam's eyes bulged. Like that, she would be getting a Pokémon? <em> Alolans sure are trusting of strangers.  </em></p><p>"You have two options," Hala said. "You have a—" </p><p>"A Rowlet," she said. "And a Popplio. What happened to Litten?"</p><p>He chuckled. "You were right, Hau. She does know her Pokémon." Then, to Sam, he added, "Litten is out of the line-up. My boy already chose him." </p><p>"Yeah," Hau interjected. He appeared next to her having taken Litten out of his ball. The cat Pokémon curled up in his arms. "Funny story, by the way. I chose from two starters too." </p><p>"Yes," Hala said. "The little rascal to your left disappeared before I could present him his choices. Sent me on a goose chase looking for him before—"</p><p>"I went with Litten," Hau finished. </p><p>Rowlet blinked. </p><p>Sam smiled. She did her best to keep it from twitching. <em> Okay, </em> this <em> is happening. You have to choose a potentially lifelong partnership between an owl and a seal. Fun, right? </em> She spread her fingers out to them. <em> Here's hoping neither of them says I smell bad.  </em></p><p>Popplio seesawed to her. It bonked its nose against her palm. </p><p>She rubbed its head. "You're a friendly little…" She stopped when she realized she couldn't tell the Popplio's gender. "Uh, Hala? Is this Popplio a boy or a girl?" </p><p>She cringed as soon as those words came out of her mouth. Since when did gender matter when it came to Pokémon? Most species' genders were equal in terms of power. </p><p>"She's a girl," Hala said. </p><p>"O-oh, okay." </p><p>Popplio and its evolutions looked feminine, which made it strange how this didn't change their gender ratios in the games. Starters had a higher chance of being male no matter what species they belonged to.</p><p>"You're adorable," Sam said to Popplio. "You'll be a nice, strong Primarina someday, won't you?"</p><p>Popplio clapped her flippers together. "Pop!" </p><p>"...Sam?" Professor Kukui inquired.</p><p>"Yes, Professor?" she said. </p><p>"Do you feel anything on your back?" </p><p>Sharp pain right then pierced Sam's shoulder. She lurched up, and she gently bonked skulls with Rowlet. </p><p>It hummed in its throat. </p><p>"Hey there, Rowlet," she said. </p><p>Its face dropped to one side. "Rowl, rowlet," it said. </p><p>"Could you loosen your talons, please?" she asked. "They hurt."</p><p>The pain receded. Her shoulder still throbbed. She relaxed it. </p><p>"Pop lio?" Popplio said, looking up at Rowlet. </p><p>"Rowl," Rowlet said.  </p><p>"Popplio," Popplio said. </p><p>Rowlet's eyes hardened. "Koo!" </p><p>Hau's Litten growled. "Mro mrowr…"</p><p>Rowlet and Popplio let out cries of protest. For all Sam knew, Litten did the equivalent of cussing them out. </p><p>The mental image amused her enough to snort. She patted Rowlet on the head. </p><p>It puffed out its chest. </p><p>Popplio moaned. </p><p>Litten glared at her. If his last reaction wasn't a curse, the loud hiss he uttered would certainly be one. </p><p>Hau almost dropped his Pokémon mid-flinch. "Hey, no," he said. "Not cool, Litten!" </p><p>Litten grunted. He settled back into his trainer's arms. </p><p>Rowlet and Popplio engaged in a stare-down. If they were in a wild west movie, all an editor would have to add to the scene was some desert-like music and shotguns. </p><p>Sam mouthed at Hala, "Should I do something?" Maybe she should randomly grab one of them and go? Anything to avoid a skirmish between the two. </p><p>Hala folded his arms. </p><p>Kukui didn't budge. </p><p>Hau shrugged again. </p><p>Rowlet stretched its left wing. It made use of its wingtips like the Decidueye from earlier and waggled them at Popplio. </p><p>Popplio whined. She crossed one flipper over the other. She succeeded in flopping on her face. </p><p>Sam scooped up the fallen Pokémon. She used one arm to hold her and the other to pat Rowlet. "Let's not fight," she said. <em> "Please? </em>I can see that you both want to be a trainer's Pokémon. Maybe if we all talk this out…" </p><p>Popplio's eyes went soft. She hopped out of Sam's lap. </p><p>She watched her leave. "Where are you going?" </p><p>She spun around. "Plio," she said. "Plio pop." </p><p>"Rowlet!" Rowlet shouted triumphantly. It spread its wings. One of them smacked Sam in the eyeballs. </p><p>Her world went dark brown. "Gah!" she said, shutting her eyes before its feathers could dig into them. "What the hell?" </p><p>It folded its wings and fluttered to her lap. It chirped. </p><p>"You really want to be my partner," she said, reopening her eyes.</p><p>Instead of Rowlet, she caught a glimpse of Popplio glancing back at her. The small Pokémon's eyes slanted. The anger she once held for Rowlet became a deep frown. She turned to scoot across the platform toward Hala. </p><p>Rowlet bobbed its head. It twisted that same head one-hundred-and-eighty degrees to watch Popplio.</p><p>Sam glanced at Rowlet, then at Popplio's retreating form. "Popplio?" she called out to her. </p><p>She glanced over her flipper. It wasn't the expression she had that gave Sam a pause. It was her form. She hung her head low to the ground. </p><p>Her little floppy ears seemed as if to become part of her skin. She dragged her entire little body across the floor. This was the form of one who felt dejected. Popplio didn't get a chance to prove herself before being turned away. </p><p>"Popplio," Sam said, "wait." She plucked Rowlet's feathery mass off of her and put it down. </p><p>Rowlet whined. It crossed its flexible wings as best it could. </p><p>Sam went after Popplio. She kneeled next to her. "Is Rowlet normally that pushy," she asked, "or did you feel you didn't have a chance?" </p><p>Popplio didn't say a peep.</p><p>"That's probably too heavy of a question to be asking someone you might want as a partner," she said, sighing. "We don't even know each other." She held her hand out to her. "People often demand things of me that I'm unwilling to do. In this case, it's becoming the trainer of someone who forced themself on me." </p><p>Rowlet grumbled in the background. </p><p>"I don't want to be a doormat for others to step on," Sam said, pushing the other Pokémon's lamenting out of her mind. "That's why I'm asking if you want to join forces." </p><p>Popplio's ear flaps stood. She tottered back around.</p><p>Sam patted her leg. "I'm not doing the trials," she admitted. "I've seen enough of gyms and their ilk. But we could still grow in other ways. I want to see where a journey across Alola will take me. You could be that nice and strong Primarina someday if you come along." </p><p>Popplio lifted her head. She stared her down.</p><p>"Really," Sam said. "I'm nervous to get out there, but let's try something new together." </p><p>The little seal gasped. The next thing Sam knew, she dragged her flippers to her and nudged her arm. </p><p>"That's a yes?" Sam said.</p><p>"Arf!" Popplio barked. </p><p>She picked her up and transferred her over to her lap. "Then yes it is!" she said. "Welcome to the team."</p><p>Hau's Litten groaned. He swatted his tail at his trainer's face. Hau got smacked in the nose. </p><p>"Hey!" Hau said. </p><p>Litten rubbed at his whiskers. He remained unperturbed by the objection. </p><p>"Cats," Sam said, shaking her head. "They're cute, if temperamental." </p><p>Litten rolled his eyes. His nose twitched. "Litten lit," he responded in a deadpan tone before continuing his grooming. </p><p>The two new trainers shared a laugh. It felt weird letting it out as loud as Hau, but his grin offset Sam's doubts. </p><p>Hala held a red and white object out to her. "This belongs to you now," he said. </p><p>She picked Popplio's poké ball out of his hand. Its weight sank her palm. "It's heavier than I expected," she said, admiring the way it glinted in the sunlight. </p><p>"Poké balls are neat," Hau said. "You can throw one and have it come back like a yo-yo." </p><p>"When you want to return your Pokémon," she said, "I guess you click the button and wait?" <em>Like in the anime?</em></p><p>"Yep!" </p><p>She went into her shorts' left pocket. If she would be carrying Popplio's ball anywhere, she might as well keep it under her dominant hand. She pulled out the rest of her possessions to make space for it. These objects included her doomed earbuds and the glossy-feeling box… Card?</p><p>
  <em> Huh?  </em>
</p><p>Professor Kukui adjusted his sunglasses. "A trainer card?" he said. </p><p>She flipped it over. "It is?" She winced at once at the picture of the wild-haired little girl who greeted her in the upper lefthand corner of the ID card. She scanned the bit of text beneath it:</p><hr/><p>
  <em> <span class="u">Name:</span> Sammy A. Brown</em>
</p><p>
  <em> <span class="u">Gender:</span> Female </em>
</p><p>
  <em> <span class="u">Age:</span> 11 </em>
</p><hr/><p>And so on. Sam lowered her ID from her face. "Maybe I shouldn't question anything that's happening anymore," she said, "but I don't remember sleeping with <em> that </em>on me."</p><p>"Could I see it?" Kukui asked. </p><p>She handed it to him. "Sure." </p><p>He held the card up to the sun. He examined it from multiple angles, going as far as to strain his eyes. He tapped at the plastic. </p><p>"It's…" he said. "It's legitimate." He turned back around. "What you've got here is a universal trainer card. You'll be able to use it to identify yourself. The downside is that it wouldn't allow you to take part in region-specific challenges, such as Alola's trials or Galar's championship league."</p><p>"Gyms from everywhere else would be fine to visit?" Sam said.</p><p>"Those are free-for-alls run by the International Pokémon League," he said. "If you lived in Kanto, you would be free to take a boat to Unova and clear their gyms."</p><p>"She's all set?" Hau said. </p><p>Kukui nodded. "That aside, she's as free as Suicune's northern wind." </p><p>"Alright!" he shouted. Sam got tackled in a half-hug while he cradled Litten in his other arm. </p><p>Popplio yelped. She leaped from her new trainer's lap as Hau tugged her to him.</p><p>"It's official," he said. "I'm introducing you to malasadas tomorrow." </p><p>"What about the "journey" part of your plan?" Sam asked. </p><p>He squeezed her arm. "That too," he said, "after the festival." </p><p>She looked at Hala. "Hey, old man? Thanks." </p><p>Popplio watched her and Hau a safe distance away from the latter. She hesitated. </p><p>Sam patted Popplio's head. "It's alright, girl," she said. "He's good." </p><p>Litten groaned. He flopped sideways in Hau's lap. The fire-type had probably been wanting her to choose the type weaker to him. Oh well. </p><p><em> I guess this is my life now. </em>And better yet, she was happy enough right now to accept that.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I've decided to switch out Rowlet for Popplio since I've gone through the Gen 7 games three times before and my Primarina playthrough was the most memorable of them. Strangely enough, I like Popplio, but I'm averse to the sight of bubbles blown out of the face in real life. They're gross! Why is bubblegum a thing?</p><p>Yes, I changed Sam's full name. I'm keeping her in line with the FMC of my other story, Seeing Red.</p><p>...Almost. Anyone who has read SR may notice a change in Sam outside of her personality. If anyone recalls the plot of the *original* SR (If anyone who stuck with me in the past is here, hey there lol), let me know what that difference may be!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. A Question of Names</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The face of an eleven-year-old girl met Sam in the mirror. She brushed reddish-brown hairs out of her eyes. Her bangs had been too long even as a kid. She didn't care to have a barber rectify the issue. She would cut her hair on her own if she wanted it done.</p><p>She pulled her phone and trainer card out of her pocket. She placed them both beside her reflection in the bathroom mirror. She opened the gallery on her phone and clicked on an album. This brought up a photo of a young woman. </p><p>This woman had worse hair than her. Sam's filled in the back of her head. The woman missed a portion of her's behind her right ear. The rest of the hair on that half of her face didn't match the left. They were shorter and curlier. This came as a result of pulling on it, mainly out of the belief that it would get rid of her split ends. It instead helped grow more of them. </p><p>She found she couldn't quit. Her hair needed to be perfect. If it wasn't perfect, it needed to be dealt with. When the problem refused to be corrected, she settled on brushing all of her hair over her right shoulder. It looked somewhat decent, if wild.</p><p>The woman's frowning cheekbones crammed with fat. A double chin stuck out. She went at least forty pounds over the recommended weight for someone her age. Like her hair, she didn't care for her appearance. She felt fine with the way she looked because she didn't care. Nobody else cared besides her mom, who occasionally guilted her into not eating as much as she usually did during dinner. </p><p>Sam examined the trainer card. The girl's strands filled out both sides of her head. They were short enough that they would fall back into place if she tried to bunch it over a shoulder. The worse she ever had to worry about when it came to maintaining it was lice, which became a non-problem by the time she reached middle school.</p><p>The girl lacked the fat her older self gained. Her slim arm bones made her look as if she hadn't been fed enough. Or maybe she had been rejecting her grandmother's undercooked macaroni and cheese in favor of chocolate-flavored <em> anything.  </em></p><p>The woman usually clothed in dark hues to compliment her hair and hazel eyes. She donned a long-sleeved shirt of a solid eggplant color in the phone's photo. She had black trousers beneath them. Nothing fancy accompanied these items, like a design or accessories. She grew to like the plain jane look. </p><p>The girl again contradicted the woman's vision. She, for one, smiled. She held her arms behind her rather leaving them than at her sides. The skin she left uncovered had very little color to it. It indicated how often she stayed indoors. </p><p>Purple and black got replaced by orange and white on the card. A cartoon Kantonian Raichu's face blended into her shirt. The sleeves changed from orange to brown, possibly reflecting the colors that trailed off the ends of its ears and limbs. </p><p>Sam glanced between the woman and girl, and between the girl and the woman. She flitted between the girl and her reflection. And finally, she decided, <em> I am nothing like my old self.  </em></p><p>There was a knock on the bathroom door. "Hey!" a voice called through it. "I found you some stuff." </p><p>Sam plopped down her belongings. She tightened the towel wrapped around her body. Then she unlocked the door and peeked out. </p><p>Hau took one look at her and covered his eyes. He nudged a bundle of clothes at her with his other hand. </p><p>"I'm wearing a towel," she said. </p><p>"No thanks," he said. "Not risking it."</p><p>"Fine," she said, taking the bundle from him. "Let's see here…"</p><hr/><p>"You learn something new every day," Sam said. "Link's colors aren't half-bad on me."</p><p>"Who now?" Hau called into the room. </p><p>She spun around in front of the mirror, admiring the perfect fit. "Nothing," she said. She then pushed the bathroom door aside.</p><p>Like the hero of <em> Breath of the Wild, </em> she wore from top to bottom a combination of blue, tan, and brown. Her shirt, unlike Link's famous Tunic of the Wild, was short-sleeved. Little white designs outlined the sleeves and collar, reminding her of <em> Wind Waker </em> Link's get-up before setting out on his journey. </p><p>A plain green belt made the tan shorts stick out. Sam's toenails dug into brown sandals before uncurling. She gestured at the clothes. "Do I look alright?"</p><p>Hau stepped back. His gaze meandered from her dripping wet hair to her legs. "It's…" His voice trailed off. </p><p><em> I swear if he thinks it's bad… </em>"Okay…?" </p><p>He beamed. "No, even better," he said. "You look <em> great! </em>I was hoping you'd fit in those. Can't be walking around mismatched, you know?" </p><p><em> I'm not unfamiliar with doing that. </em> It was probably the reason why she awoke today with a sweater and shorts on. The lack of laundry getting done led to her getting, um, "creative". <em> If I ever have to walk around in a sparkly rainbow tank top, orange sweatpants, and neon green socks again, I'm just going to hide in my room.  </em></p><p>She never liked wearing particularly bright hues. Hell, her family read her wrong the last time she did. A woman's "preferences" mattered to them than keeping their opinions to themselves. </p><p>She rolled her eyes and sighed. </p><p>"I talked with my gramps while you were in there," Hau said. "He told me to tell you that you can stay here for the next few nights." </p><p>She looked past him at a half-circle of bluish-green seats. A wide couch sprawled out on the far left. On the other side were two armchairs. </p><p>"I'm sleeping on the couch, aren't I?" she said. It wasn't ideal, sure. She was sure she could handle it.</p><p>"Pretty much," Hau said, directing her attention to another door on their side of the room. "If you need anything, the bedroom's over there. I share it with Tutu and—"</p><p>
  <em> "You share a room with your family?!"  </em>
</p><p>Hau flinched. "Ye-yeah?" </p><p><em> "How </em>do you not feel violated?!" </p><p>He went quiet. </p><p>Sam's shrill words rang in her eardrums. She buried her head in her hands. "Geez," she said.</p><p>A small white snout poked out from over the chairs. It uttered a soft, "Arf…?" </p><p>Sam sighed and headed for the chairs. She gathered Popplio in her arms. "Hey," she said, falling into the seat her Pokémon once occupied. </p><p>Hau followed her over to the seating area. He collapsed into the other armchair. "That was rude," he said. </p><p>Popplio nuzzled into Sam's shoulder. Sam scratched her behind the ear. </p><p>"...I know," Sam said, deflating into her seat. "Alola's atmosphere is going to take some time to get used to. Do most families sleep together?" </p><p>"Nope," he said. "We do it here 'cause the house is small. I've never had a room to myself." </p><p><em> 'Sounds miserable,' </em>she wanted to say.</p><p>Hau sat back. "I think I found another reason why I'm taking you with me," he said. "We could learn about each other's worlds. Like, where'd you come from?" </p><p>"America," she told him. "We also call it the United States, or altogether, the United States of America. The closest thing I can relate to the mainland is Unova, which is like New York, a major city—" </p><p>At first, it seemed as if he went cross-eyed. Then Sam looked again, and she looked away. </p><p>"I didn't ask for a speech," he snarked. </p><p>"Sorry." </p><p>Hau's whole demeanor changed in the span of a finger snap. "But, hey, don't apologize," he said. "One thing at a time, yeah?" </p><p>Sam didn't reply. </p><p>"...Wait," he said. "I've been apologizing a lot today." He counted on his fingers. "Where am I at? Four?" </p><p>She shrugged. "I've said sorry to you like three times," she said. "One was in my head."</p><p>"And that's… Seven altogether." </p><p>
  <em> No shit, Sherlock?  </em>
</p><p>He threw his arms behind his head. "I say we stop while we're ahead." </p><p>
  <em>What if I can't stop being stupid?</em>
</p><p>He seemed to read her mind. "The next one to say sorry," he said, "gets hugged to death." </p><p>"Yeah, no," Sam said. "Sorry. I don't—" </p><p>Hau pounced on her from the side. "You said it again," he said. His body bridged the gap between his and her chairs. </p><p>Sam snarled through gritted teeth. She shoved her backside against her seat's opposite arm.</p><p>Popplio ducked with her flippers over her head. She squeaked at the incoming menace. </p><p>Hau's smile flipped upside down. "The "to death" part was a joke, guys," he said. </p><p>Sam cradled Popplio. "I knew that," she said, huffing. </p><p><em> Not really, </em>that little part of her replied. </p><p><em> Shut up, </em>she snapped in return. "Sit down. I've got a question for you." </p><p>Hau complied. "Yeah, what?" </p><p>"If you don't mind me asking," she said, relieved to see him retreating to his seat. "Does Hala being a kahuna make you some sort of royalty?" If he was, Hau sure didn't act all high and mighty like a prince. "From what I recall, kahunas are important because—"</p><p>"They're chosen by the Tapu," he finished. "Tutu being Kahuna doesn't make me all that special." He mumbled a bit more to himself. It was hard to pick up even with her excellent hearing. </p><p>"What was that?" Sam said. </p><p>He leaned back. "Nothing," he said. "I'm looking forward to seeing more of the region and meeting more people. What about you?" </p><p>"You'll both do fine out there." </p><p>They looked up. Hala came in from one of the western doors. </p><p>"Tutu," Hau said, scrambling to his feet. </p><p>Hala shook his head. "Sit down," he chastised the boy. "Do you want to miss out on the pancakes?" </p><p>He flopped into his seat. "Pancakes? This late?" </p><p>"May I remind you of that time you dragged me to the city at three in the morning for malasadas?" </p><p>Hau waved his hands. "Hey, no. I'm past that." </p><p>"So pancakes at two in the afternoon shouldn't phase you. The cook's working on them now." Hala sat on the sofa. He stared straight at his grandson. </p><p>"Hey, Sam," Hau said, "wanna tell us about where you came from? What'd you call it again? The United States of Americana?"</p><p>"It's "America"," Sam said. </p><p>"America," he reiterated. "What's it like there?" </p><p>"For starters, we call it "the land of the free"," she said. "You can say whatever you want as long as it's not a threat." </p><p>"I could go out on the street, scream 'Malasada!', and nobody would care?" Hau got a thoughtful look. </p><p>"In theory. If someone's enough of a… <em> Douche," </em>she refused to risk cursing in front of Hala, "they can file a noise complaint against you." </p><p>Sam had seen plenty of those notices in her time living with her relatives. The neighbors didn't appreciate people screaming at one another twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week. She didn't blame them. </p><p>"It's free speech," Hau said. </p><p>"Sometimes it doesn't matter," she said.</p><p>"Why have free speech if I'm not always covered?" </p><p>"Noise is noise. We use it primarily to speak against the government." </p><p>"With words?" </p><p>She bit her lip. "I don't think the guys in charge would be happy if you stormed in with a flame-throwing cat and demanded changes to the law. We use words and votes to get what we want." </p><p>The conversation drifted to other things from there, and Sam blanked out. The next thing she knew, Hau and Hala got into a bizarrely passionate discussion in Hawaiian. She watched on the sidelines until the pancakes came out of the kitchen, and then some. </p><hr/><p>Sam felt bad. As trainer and Pokémon, her relationship with Popplio was meant to be intimate. For the last few hours, however, she paid more attention to her other new friends than her. This influenced her decision to stay up and hang out with her after everyone left for bed.</p><p>Sam switched on her phone's flashlight and left it face-down on the couch arm opposite of her. Her eyes stung from the sharp glow cutting through the living room's darkness. At least her sleeping area didn't feel like Litten set it ablaze. She didn't sweat like she did when she first awoke. She could sleep in this low seventy-something degree weather with a blanket if she wanted to. </p><p>Popplio curled up on her. Sam's new Pokémon liked being close to her, and although Sam hadn't had much skin-to-skin contact before, she allowed it. It felt comforting to be close to somebody even if they were a completely different species. </p><p>Sam snapped back to the present. Wait a second. She was still calling her Pokémon by her species name? Popplio deserved a new one. ...That is if she consented to her choosing a new name.</p><p>"Popplio?" she whispered. </p><p>She lifted her head. </p><p>"Would you be okay with me calling you something else?" Sam said. </p><p>She sat up and squeaked. </p><p>"That means yes?" </p><p>She bobbed her head. </p><p>"Great." Now came the hard part. "What about…" She couldn't give her a generic name. She deserved to be named something better than a body of water or "Mermaid" or "Bubbles". Though, that last one wouldn't be bad. She had a passing interest in <em> The Powerpuff Girls </em>as a child.</p><p>What about taking a name from mythology? She used to love reading Greek mythos, as messed-up as they were. One could thank a <em> single </em>unit in an English class for giving her that interest. </p><p><em> Amphitrite? Leucotha? </em>Then again, she didn't know how much the Greeks rubbed off on the Pokémon universe. She had to keep it simpler. </p><p>Popplio moved off Sam's chest.</p><p><em> Crystal? Sapphire? Diamond?  </em> Haha, <em> no. </em>They were the types of generic names she was worried about. </p><p>"Plio?" Popplio said. </p><p>"I'm thinking," she said. <em> Naiad? Poppy? Primadonna? Blueberry? </em></p><p>Darkness engulfed the room. </p><p>Sam stiffened. "Popplio...?" she said.</p><p>Her phone's night mode-filtered light illuminated Popplio's snout. She tapped at the screen. </p><p>"What do you think you're doing?" Sam said. </p><p>Popplio tapped at the screen once more. A sweeping melody filled the air. </p><p>Sam jumped up and off the couch. Oddly appropriate considering Popplio's song choice. "No!" she yelled, tackling her. "Turn it off, turn it off—" </p><p>The lyrics of <em> Jump Up, Superstar! </em>blared through the living room. Sam jerked her phone away from Popplio. Her fingers trembled when they tapped at the screen. They shook enough for the device to slip from her hands. It slammed into the floorboards below. </p><p>"Damn it," she cried, ducking after it. </p><p>The song kept playing. Popplio hummed along. Squawks accompanied it from a dark corner of the room. That clingy Rowlet, probably.</p><p>"Stop!" Sam hissed. "Do you two want to wake the whole house?" </p><p>"Too late." </p><p>She gulped. <em> Oh no. </em>That couldn't be who she thought it was. </p><p>She got a firm grip on her phone. She shut off the music. She turned around. </p><p>The Pokémon went quiet. </p><p>Hala hung around the doorway to his bedroom. His nighttime garb wasn't different from the get-up she saw him in earlier today. The sole difference she picked out was a blue robe. </p><p>"Hala," she said. "I guess I—" She glared at Popplio, then at the gloomy northern half of the room. "<em>We </em>woke you up?" </p><p>"You did," he said, unmoving.</p><p>She gulped. "Sir, I would like to apologize—"</p><p>"Popplio and Rowlet are involving you in their rivalry again?" </p><p>Popplio shrank from his hard gaze, or what might be a gaze. Sam couldn't tell when it came to the man who had Brock-like eyes. <em> I wonder how well he can see.  </em></p><p>"Popplio got into my music," she said. "You woke up to <em> this </em> song. Sorry." </p><p>She dimmed her screen before showing it to him. <em> Jump Up, Superstar </em> featured a ruby red album cover with the words <em> Super Mario Odyssey </em>printed on it in a mixture of colors. A red hat with eyes was shown flying out between the latter two words. It stopped in front of the "O" on Mario, which had been replaced by a globe. </p><p>The song paused at thirty seconds in. Sam reset the playback bar to zero seconds and clicked out of its menu. "I got up to this once because I was stupid and used a randomizer for my alarm. <em> Never again—"</em> </p><p>Hala laughed, shocking Sam out of her rambling. "Be thankful I'm up and not Hau," he said. "He gets cranky if he's forced awake."</p><p><em> Hau? A grump? </em>He had to be kidding her. </p><p>He laughed some more at her perplexed expression and shut the bedroom door. "My boy doesn't seem the type to get upset like that?" he said. </p><p>"Not at all," Sam said. "Hau is one of the nicest kids I've ever met." </p><p>She wasn't kidding. She could speak from experience that the cheerful attitudes of most kids his age fell to the wayside as they either closed in or hit their teens. In most cases, it made them harder to handle. Worst of all were those went off the deep-end and reinvented their lives to the point she couldn't recognize them anymore. Many friendships were lost that way.</p><p>She shivered as the memories flowed in. She could pray, and to whom, that Hau didn't become as annoying as the boys she dealt with growing up. The bastards only saw her as a mental plaything. </p><p>
  <em> 'I'm throwing a pencil at the next idiot who catcalls me or asks me for a piece of gum.' </em>
</p><p>Sam forced her thoughts from her mind. She tucked her knees to her chest. </p><p>"I'm glad to hear you two are getting along," Hala said, shuffling to one of the chairs across from her. "Mind if I sit here a moment? My back's bothering me." </p><p>She nodded. </p><p>The chair cushion trembled under him. "What are you still doing up?"</p><p>"I'm spending time with Popplio," she said.</p><p>Said Pokémon ducked behind Sam. </p><p>"You don't believe she was trying to tell you something, do you?" Hala asked.</p><p>"I don't know," Sam said, "but she shouldn't have done that." </p><p>Popplio whimpered. She nuzzled her trainer's arm. </p><p>Sam sighed. She brought her in for a hug. "Fine, come here," she said. "I can't stay mad at you." </p><p>Popplio threw her flippers around Sam's neck. She hugged her back. </p><p>"She was giving you a hint as to what to name her," Hala said. </p><p>"You think?" Sam said.</p><p>"I didn't think," he said. "I knew."</p><p>Popplio nodded.</p><p>"It's important to read your Pokémon's cues," he also said. "You otherwise won't go far as a trainer."</p><p>Sam facepalmed. "I'm an idiot." </p><p>He tilted his head in befuddlement. "I don't believe so?" </p><p>"...It's nothing, old man." How could she have missed such an obvious hint? At least she now had a clearer idea as to what to call Popplio. <em> It must be based on music. </em>Or what about her voice? </p><p><em> Warble? </em> No. <em> Shrill? </em> Again, no. It sounded insulting. <em> ...Trill? </em>That would have been an excellent name for Rowlet. </p><p>She went back to thinking about Greek mythology. Some monsters seduced sailors to their deaths in the myths. <em> Sirens. </em> It was music-related, and the monsters tended to be female. Wouldn't it work with the mermaid theme Popplio would have later down the road? <em> It's better than nothing…  </em></p><p>"Popplio, how would you feel with the name Siren?" Sam asked. "Your final evolution reminds people of a mermaid, which they sort of are, and works with the singing motif you're going for." </p><p>She could have mistaken Popplio's nodding for headbanging. </p><p>"Siren, then," Hala said. "Good to see you two sorted it out." </p><p>"You helped," Sam replied. "Thanks." </p><p>"No problem," he said. "No problem at all."</p><hr/><p>Sam flew into a sitting position and swung her head around the room. Yesterday couldn't have been a dream. It couldn't have been a dream. It couldn't have been a…</p><p>The back of a bluish-green couch greeted her on her left. To her right were the chairs and two of the doors into rooms of Hau's house. </p><p>She grabbed her arm and pinched herself. It throbbed. </p><p>
  <em> I'm still here!  </em>
</p><p>She reached behind her for her phone. She had left it on the couch arm after Hala left for bed once again. </p><p>Once she had it in hand, something moved at her side. The seal that got between the crack between her body and the couch popped up.</p><p>"Siren?" </p><p>The Popplio nodded.</p><p>Music. Sam's eyes darted to her phone screen. An alarm alerting her to the fact she needed to wake up for college had been triggered. It played a series of beeps followed by a drumbeat and a guitar. </p><p>Sam shut off the alarm before the song's singer could utter a single word. "Nope," she said. "Not going to college today."</p><p>Not at all.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. The Strangers</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hau stumbled out of his room hunched over as if he had his life drained out of him. He carried a bundle of clothes, the same ones as he wore yesterday, under his arm. He would have gotten something new to wear had his mind not been clouded.</p><p>"Good morning?" </p><p>He grumbled a reply to the girl who called to him from his couch. She sounded much more alive than he did. Probably because she didn't have a cat scurrying ahead of him to where she sat.</p><p>Hau pushed the bathroom door aside. </p><p>"Guess we'll talk when you're done in there?" she called after him.</p><p>"Cat," he said.</p><p>"Cat?" she echoed. </p><p>"Cat," he said again. </p><p>"Litten," she said.</p><p>"Yeah," he said. He entered the bathroom and slid the door shut. He leaned on it. </p><p>The festival would be taking place at sunset. While he wished he got more sleep, Tutu probably needed all hands on deck to set-up everything. After that, Hau was to be part of one of the night's biggest attractions.</p><p>He walked to the mirror, which reflected a sleepy expression at him. One of his arms was ripped out of his pajama's short sleeves. He dropped the clothes he was about to put on in the bowl of the sink. </p><p>It didn't take long for him to swap his wardrobe. He fastened on his hairclips, the last of the day before's apparel before bringing his arms all the way out for a stretch. The tension in them broke.</p><p>He dropped them behind his head. "Yeah, think I'm good," he said, straightening his neck. "Let's get this show on the road." </p><hr/><p>Sam was many things. <em>Kooky?</em> Yes. But maybe it was how people were like back in her world. <em>Unlikeable?</em> No way! She had low confidence in herself. They could work on that. <em>Overwhelmed?</em> Definitely.</p><p>Hau's mouth dropped at the poké beans scattered across the floor. Sam sat in the middle of the mess holding down Litten and Rowlet. Her shadow fell over the third of the starter trio, who picked at random beans all over the floor.</p><p>"Siren," Sam said, "back away from the beans." She nodded at her captives. "Do you want to join these two?" </p><p>Siren? She must have given a new name to her Popplio. </p><p>"Pop," Siren said, "popplio." </p><p>"I don't understand what you're saying," Sam said. </p><p>Uh, duh? Maybe it was because she's a<em> Pokémon? </em>Almost nobody could understand them.</p><p>Siren moaned. She opened her mouth wide. </p><p>Hau startled. "Hey, Sam?" he said. "I don't think you should tussle with her."</p><p>His suggestion went unnoticed by Sam. She moved in on Siren. Litten and Rowlet were wrapped in her arms.</p><p>Hau prepared for the inevitable outcome. "Sam, don't!" he still warned.</p><p>A concentrated blast of blue spray, a water gun, shot from Siren's mouth. It slammed into Sam, who, along with the other starters, went flying at the couch. </p><p>Sam crashed into the seats. She whimpered as if she were an injured Rockruff pup. </p><p>Litten yowled. He tore from Sam's grip. Following this came a loud hiss.</p><p>Sam flinched. She probably thought the hiss was meant for her. And maybe it was.</p><p>Hau rushed over to retrieve Litten. A dozen streams of water dripped from Litten's bristling fur into his skin. They both shuddered from the cold snap.</p><p>Rowlet, also having been freed from Sam, plucked up a bean that fell a ways away. He ate it with a delighted chirp. </p><p>"Popplio," Sam said, wincing, <em> "why?!"  </em></p><p>Siren ignored her. She picked up a bean. So did Rowlet. They zigzagged along the floor to clear it of loose treats. </p><p>Litten wailed. </p><p>Hau deposited him on the floor. "Go ahead, bud." </p><p>"I tried to feed your cat," Sam said. "I utterly failed and am <em> in pain." </em>She winced again.</p><p>He smiled. "Let 'em have it. A little snacking doesn't kill anyone." </p><p>"Popplio <em> spat </em> on me," she said. "And it <em> hurt. </em>Why are you not phased?" </p><p>His eyebrow went up. "Are you hurt?" he said. </p><p>"I'm in <em> some pain! </em> Are humans resistant to Pokémon attacks? It feels like I'm <em> not."  </em></p><p>As knowledgeable as Sam claimed to be when it came to Pokémon species, she still had a lot to learn about his world. "I've never been attacked," he said. "Tutu says we can withstand most of their moves, so you're fine. We're kinda like normal types, except we don't have their weakness to fighting type Pokémon."</p><p>Siren stood on her hind flippers when he explained this all to Sam. She placed her other ones on her hips and smirked. It was almost as if she was saying, <em> 'See? You're okay!'  </em></p><p>Sam squeezed the water out her hair. She loudly groaned.</p><p>"Thanks for taking care of Litten," Hau said. "He's got a bad habit of dragging me out of bed." </p><p>"Get used to it," she groused. "Pets don't care what time they wake you up as long as they get fed." She got her phone and turned it on. "What time is it now…?" </p><p>"Six?" Hau guessed.</p><p>She held up the device. <em> '6:00,' </em> it read. </p><p>"Correct," she said.</p><p>He laughed. "Guess you could say you spilled some beans, and I spilled them back to you, huh?" </p><p>She leered at him. "What." </p><p>"...Yeah." </p><p>"You <em> did not </em>make a terrible and out-of-place joke out of my predicament." </p><p>"Yeah?" </p><p>The couch bounced under Sam. Her frown became a smile. "Hau could you?" she asked, brushing her wet hair behind her. </p><p>Now he was the one scowling. "Hey, not cool," he said. "I can't make puns outta your name. There's <em> none!"  </em></p><p>Her smile grew. "I can think of two." </p><p>"Which are?" </p><p>"I'm not telling you." </p><p>He slumped like an unused stringed puppet. "Come on! We're friends, right? Give me some ammo." </p><p>"That's not how friendship works," Sam said. "Friends don't shoot each other." </p><p>"Friends joke with friends all the time!" </p><p>"You're equating shooting someone to joking with them." </p><p>"I don't see how I did that—" </p><p>She crossed her arms. "Hau dare you." </p><p>He got up. "Listen here, Samurai—" </p><p>"Meh, you can do better than that."</p><p>Litten and the others had been joined by a hippopotamus-like creature. It slumped stomach-first on the floor while everyone else scurried around it. </p><p>Hau gathered a few beans. He approached the newcomer. "Here, Slowpoke," he said, shaping the beans into a small mountain in front of it. "Eat up." </p><p>Litten bounded forward right when he moved back. He crashed into the pile. Beans scattered about the rightmost side of the room like bullets. </p><p>Bits of the splatter hit poor Slowpoke in the face and snout. He didn't move, much less blink, from the impact.</p><p>"Litten!" Hau yelped. He yanked him off the floor. "We talked about this. If it's not yours, don't touch it." </p><p>The cat hissed at him. Three sharp black and red mounds jumped from his back. </p><p>Hau squealed. He dropped him. </p><p>Litten scurried away to further assist the others in their clean-up of the floor.</p><p>The door to the bedroom opened. Hau's grandfather stepped out. He fixed his familiar yellow robe's placement on his shoulders. "Mornin'," he said. </p><p>"Morning," Hau said.</p><p>Sam gave Tutu a wave. "Hey, old man." Her expression was peculiar. She didn't smile nor did she frown. Her posture straightened. Her eyes darted away. He couldn't tell what they found. </p><p>"I'm setting up for the festival," Tutu said. "Either of you's wanna come along?" </p><p>Hau nodded. "Me! ...After we feed Slowpoke." </p><p>"Really now? I heard the malasada shop could use help setting up—" </p><p><em> Malasada. </em>That single word jolted Hau fully awake. He blinked twice, triggering crust in his eyes he didn't know he had. He rubbed them away.</p><p>"They do?" he said. He dropped his beans, some of which pelted Slowpoke on the snout. "Say no more!" </p><p>He was out of the house before anyone could yell at him to slow down. The front door slammed shut behind him. </p><hr/><p>"Hi, can I help—" </p><p>"Alola! Howzit going?" </p><p>A young woman in a loose-fitting orange apron blinked at the kid who interrupted her. The boxes to her right were stacked to the ceiling of her stand. Pictures on each of the cartons featured the same round pastry costumed in different colors and varieties of jelly alongside a puffy pink Pokémon sticking out its tongue. </p><p>Hau romped up to the counter. "Whoa," he said, eying each of the labels. "You guys brought in all the other flavors this year?" </p><p>The woman folded her arms. "Oh," she said. "It's you." </p><p>Of all people outside of those he lived with, the people who ran the shop over in Hau'oli City were the most familiar with him. He made sure to stop there at least three times a week, usually dragging along his gramps or one of the guys who did the housework. </p><p>"Yep," he said. </p><p>She sidestepped to the boxes. "What's your name again, kid?" </p><p>He leaned on the counter. Excuse him, <em> what? </em>Sure, people could call him Hala's grandkid. And sure, one could wonder which side of the family he got his green hair from. But how did this woman not know anything about him? </p><p>"I know you," he said. "You've been working at the shop for a couple of months now. How could you not—" </p><p>"Is your name Hop?" she asked.</p><p>"Close," he said. "It's—" </p><p>"Han," she said.</p><p>"No." </p><p>"Han<em>s…?"  </em></p><p>"No—" </p><p>"Howie." </p><p>"Remove a syllable there—" </p><p>"Forget it," the woman said. "You're related to the guy running today's event. His son or something." </p><p>"Ma'am, I'm his <em> grand—" </em></p><p>"<em>Whatever." </em>The woman got a sharp knife from behind her counter. She drove it into the masking tape holding the top boxes covers together. "Either buy something or move on." </p><p>"Tutu said I could—" </p><p>"Help?" she finished. "The old coot's dumb. I don't need help setting up." </p><p>Hau peeked at the tower of boxes. "You sure?" he said. "'Cause that's a lot to unpack." </p><p>She grabbed the side of the cardboard to steady them. <em> "Please. </em>If the shop thought I needed extra hands, they would've sent my co-workers with me." </p><p>"Are you sure?"</p><p>The woman opened the top box. "Yes," she snapped, withdrawing a metal tray. "Go hang the festival lights or something." </p><p>He looked to the side. He chewed his cheek. </p><p>"Well?" the woman said. </p><p>His gramps and Sam had passed them by. Siren the Popplio was nowhere to be found. Sam must have withdrawn her into her ball.</p><p>"Just the banner?" Sam said, quickening her pace behind Hala. "Nothing else?" </p><p>"For now," he said. "See me again when you're done." </p><p>"Yes, sir."</p><p>Tutu chortled. "Sam, I want you to quit calling me "sir". I'm just Hala."</p><p>"Si—" Sam caught herself. "<em>Hala." </em></p><p>"You remind me of how my boy calls almost all of the adults he meets mister or misses. I don't know where he gets it from!"</p><p>They faded into the morning crowd. Their voices went with them. </p><p>Hau stared into the wad of money he dug out of his shorts. <em> I do that?</em></p><p><em> "Well?"</em> said the malasada stand attendant. </p><p>"You know what, Ms. Shopkeeper?" he said, tossing the money onto the counter. "Give me as many of those," he pointed at the topmost container, which had an image of a pastry with pink filling spilling out, "as you can." </p><p>The shopkeeper set the tray down on the counter. "Thank goodness," she muttered. </p><hr/><p>Hau had always loved feeling the sun's warmth on his skin. It gave him comfort when his life took bizarre twists and turns and made him all tingly at times. Someone could say he ran on its energy and would perish were it to fade. </p><p>How wrong whoever thought that was. As much as he loved the sun, its true warmth resided far, far away from here. And it had <em> nothing </em>on the drool-inducing lumps of fried dough he pressed to his chest. </p><p>He paced through the southern end of Iki Town, throwing his head this way and that. He found objective nowhere in the sea of people and Pokémon dragging things around and setting up stands and such. He marched on regardless, past the houses and toward the staircase marking Iki's exit. It wouldn't hurt to check if Tutu assigned her a task there. </p><p>"Mornin'!" </p><p>A man with greying brown hair and his son, who couldn't have been much younger than Hau, played on the grass alongside a small brown dog with a furry white collar. </p><p>The boy's Rockruff barked at the passerby. Its cute little tail whipped back and forth. </p><p>"Alola," Hau called. "You guys good?" </p><p>"Yep," the boy said.</p><p>The small family continued their play. The boy got on his hands and knees and barked at Rockruff. </p><p>It barked back and went into a low crouch. </p><p>The boy waddled away as fast as he could. "Come and get me!" he yelled. </p><p>Rockruff barked. It galloped after him. It jumped onto his back and pushed him down.</p><p>"You got me!" he shouted, slipping into the grass. </p><p>"Drat!" the father said, dropping to the ground as if Rockruff had also gotten him. "We've been foiled again!" </p><p>Hau kept walking. "...At least they're having fun," he said. "Where'd she run off to?" </p><p>One woman clinging to a tiny purse came up on his left. She slowed to a halt when she spotted him. </p><p>He kept walking. At least she couldn't clog up the pathway on her own. The roads here could fit up to four people walking in a straight line. </p><p>"Alola," he said. </p><p>Although he maintained a respectable distance away, the woman stepped off the road and into the grass. "Go ahead," she said. </p><p>He tilted his head. "There's plenty of room for you to…" Ah, forget it. He couldn't go around arguing nonsense with people. They would have none of it. </p><p>He kept walking, stopping again only when he assumed she wasn't watching him anymore. </p><p>The woman resumed her trek on her side of the path. She came across an older lady and her husband who came up from his side of the road, but she didn't stop for them. She just kept walking. </p><p>He turned away. "...Yep." </p><p>After a jog past the last of the homes, Hau came across somebody else. His grandfather, who pointed at a towering four-armed Pokémon with robust muscle. </p><p>"You!" Hala shouted in a tone that made Hau jump. "Those are the festival lights?" </p><p>The Machamp's hands were full of cardboard boxes. It signaled him with a nod. </p><p>"Put one of those by those trees," he said, pointing in said trees' direction. "We're stringing the lights starting there." </p><p>It went straight away to them. </p><p>"You've finished with the malasada stand already?" </p><p>Hau twirled around. "The attendant didn't need me," he said to his gramps. It was more like she had been rude to him, but hey, did it matter? "I wanna check in with Sam." </p><p>"Planning to introduce her to malasadas, I assume?" Tutu asked.</p><p>He looked down at his pile of malasadas. "Yeah." </p><p>"You'll find her down the stairs. She's hanging a banner." </p><p>He broke into a dash now that he had been given a clear objective. "Thanks!"</p><p>The malasadas jumped around in his arms. He tightened his hold on them. <em> She's gotta love what I got her. </em>He wasn't the type to excessively plan things out. He made an exception when it came to his all-time favorite snack. Once upon a time, years ago, he made a whole little chart correlating one's personality to types of malasada. It turned into a pet project of his that spanned over a few years.</p><p>Then he lost it to a new cleaning lady who found it under his bed. He remembered crying up a storm that day. Tutu and he spent ages searching for the paper before the lady admitted to what she'd done. Who in their right mind takes a kid's beloved work and chucks it in the trash without giving it a second glance? <em> Some </em> people, it turned out.</p><p>Thankfully for his sanity, he got over the loss when he realized he had his chart internally memorized. It didn't matter who one was; the chart worked like a charm when they were narrowed down to a single personality type. </p><p>To give examples of this… Let us say that if one was a lax kinda person, like Hau's gramps, they often loved sour malasadas and avoided the bitter ones. If they were more like Hau, an excitable type, they enjoyed the sweet ones and also skipped out on the bitter ones. And for someone like Lillie, who shied away from others… They loved sweet malasadas and despised the spicy ones.</p><p>Long story short, the chart <em> just worked</em>, and he used it to calculate what Sam's favorite type could— Nah, would be.</p><p>He never said it never failed to predict correctly. Because that was the truth. The <em> total and utter </em> truth. She would love what he got her. </p><hr/><p>A girl hovered around a stepladder by the sign marking Iki Town's entrance. She clung to her Popplio, who tried and failed to wiggle from her grasp.</p><p>"I don't know who you think you are," she said, "but I'm not interested in your garbage." </p><p>Hau stopped. He looked beyond the stairs and his mountain of malasadas. </p><p>"You don't understand. The threat posed by—"</p><p>"No thanks," the girl said, backing into the stepladder. "Not happening." </p><p>Hau looked at the strangers accosting his new friend. He had to take a double-take when he saw their get-up. </p><p>The suits the people with Sam wore were nothing like he had seen before. They covered their entire bodies in white and teal. Their faces, the one uncovered part of their bodies, were a lot paler than Sam's. It was like looking at ghosts, one with a blue mustache and goatee, and the other with hair covering an eye and flung over her shoulder. </p><p>Hau took the stairs down two at a time. "Hey," he said, joining their little party, "something wrong here?" </p><p>The weird-looking woman sighed. She folded her arms. "I told you making a ruckus would attract the locals."</p><p>The strange man shook his head. He played with the curl in his mustache. "Soliera, we can resolve this peacefully," he said. "All the faller has to do is concede she's wrong."</p><p>Hau looked at Sam. <em> Faller? </em> </p><p>"These two popped up out of nowhere," Sam said. "They're spouting gibberish."</p><p>He stared at the strangers.</p><p>"It could snowball into an ecological disaster if you were given free rein," the woman, Soliera, said. </p><p>Sam made a hand motion beckoning the answer of her. "Which means…" </p><p>"We are under no obligation to tell you," she said, stepping forward. "What concerns us are the signals we've been reading from this island. They have been emitting from <em> you."  </em></p><p>Sam copied the woman's crossed arms. She glared at her.</p><p>"Someone wanna explain what's going on here?" Hau said.</p><p>The man acknowledged him. "Your friend," he replied, "is not of this world, yes?" </p><p>Hau gasped. <em> "How'd you know that?!" </em> he said. </p><p>"We have our ways," Soliera said. "Where did you find her?" She towered over him. Her face was stone-cold, sort of like his gramps' some days. It didn't bode any good.</p><p>He shrank away. "Down the road from here. Yesterday." </p><p>"She doesn't belong here," the man said, dropping his 'stache. "Her presence, young one, may very well lead to ruin."</p><p>Hau spoke as soon as he finished. "She's cool. She helped rescue a friend's—" The full brunt of the man's words hit him. She could <em> what? </em> He even said it himself. <em> "What?!"  </em></p><p>Sam facepalmed. "Ignore them, Hau. They sound like doomsday cultists. And just <em> look </em> at them."</p><p>She did have a point. Who dressed in full-body suits out here? The duo looked like they jumped straight out of a science fiction story with the weird logos labeling their shoulders, their use of arm and knee pads, and faces covered in helmets and visors.</p><p><em> "Aliens?" </em>Hau gasped. "Aw, no. I'm not ready for an invasion." </p><p>The man sighed. "Yes," he said, suddenly sounding exasperated. He must have had that label plastered on him before. "We're "aliens". No, we aren't the enemy. We <em>don't</em> want to be your enemy." </p><p>"So why are <em> you </em> telling <em> me </em> I need to go home?" Sam said. "I'm going nowhere." </p><p>Soliera gritted her teeth. "Phyco, permission to battle?" </p><p>Phyco shook his head. "No. She's stubborn, not aggressive." </p><p>Sam turned away. "I'm done with this," she said. "I've seen my share of nutcases and you two beat out most of them." She waved at Hau. "I'm going back to town. Coming with me?" </p><p>He peered at the strangers.</p><p>"Hold on a second," Soliera said. She stepped forward with a poké ball in hand. It was blue all over with golden spines sticking out its sides. She flashed its front, a silver button, at the kids. "Show us what you are made of if you're so confident you can defend yourself and the people around you." </p><p>"As much as I loathe seeing you sink to this…" Phyco said. He addressed Sam next. "Prove your competency and we may leave you alone, child. We have bigger things we must be attending to."</p><p>Siren hugged her trainer around the neck. </p><p>"Fine," Sam said, peeling her off. "Let's show them what we can do." </p><p>"Pop!" Siren cried, diving from her arms. She landed on her back flippers and flung her fronts in the air like she just didn't care.</p><p>Soliera pulled her arm back. "Here we go," she said. "Let's fight, Fur—" </p><p><em> "What </em> is going on here?" </p><p>Hau sighed upon seeing Tutu at the top of the stairs. It seemed the folded arms pose was everyone's favorite way of expressing themselves today. They made him look a lot more intimidating from his place up high compared to the girls. </p><p>Hala marched down the stairs. He got between Sam and Soliera. "This isn't the time nor place for a battle," he said.</p><p>Phyco twirled his mustache. "Ah," he said, stepping back. "Tall, a bit on the chubbier side, and much on the older side." He whipped up his hands. They moved out in the traditional Alolan greeting. …Except they hurried back in toward him, forming the image of an odd square instead of a wide-open rainbow. "Alola, kahuna. We weren't expecting to meet you." </p><p>"Alola to you as well, stranger," Tutu said. His eyebrows scrunched. Hau guessed he was as confused by their appearance as he and Sam were. "What brings you here?" </p><p>"We were about to test the girl," Soliera said. "She radiates an energy only those who come from faraway lands possess." </p><p>"What do you mean by an "ecological disaster"?" Sam said. "What does this "energy" have to do with it?" </p><p>"Again," Soliera said, "we will not divulge anything to someone who may not live here by the end of the night. It is our problem to worry about." </p><p>"So why mention it?" Hau asked.</p><p>"That child has a point," Phyco said. "You are giving away more than you may realize." </p><p>Soliera put away her poké ball. "I suppose <em> you </em> are right, Phyco." She swiveled to Sam. "She must still prove herself. If she refuses to comply with us, how?" </p><p>"You answered your question," Tutu said. He patted his grandson over the head. "We've got our Hau right here."</p><p>Oh goodie. More puns involving his name. As if he hadn't seen enough of those. "What about it?" he asked.</p><p>"Remember when I told you to take part in today's ceremony?" Tutu said. "I'd been looking for a trainer to go up against you. There aren't many others your age setting out on the island challenge from Melemele this year. Most of them must live on the other islands, and so are out of my jurisdiction. </p><p>"I'd given up on doing our traditional ceremony when she appeared." He made a slight gesture at Sam. "While she doesn't qualify for the challenge, old Koko is lusting for a battle after two years of sumo. I want both it and you to be happy." </p><p>"So Sam," he said, properly addressing her, "what do you say to this? It will knock not one, but multiple Pidgeys out with a poké ball."</p><p>Sam leaned on the stepladder. "Sounds doable, I guess," she said. "There's nothing but positives with your idea." </p><p>Hau nodded along. He found nothing wrong with it either. If Sam was as knowledgeable of battles as she was with Pokémon species, she would give him something to look forward to tonight.</p><p>He started stacking his malasadas on the ladder. </p><p>"Did you have to buy that many of those?" Sam mumbled to him. "Seems like overkill."</p><p>He shook his head. "You can never have enough malasadas." </p><p>She swiped one from him. <em> "This </em>is a malasada?" she said, pressing on the bread. "I was thinking it was a sort of candy, not a pastry."</p><p>He shook his head. "They're kinda like doughnuts," he said. "No holes and a lot of flavor on the inside."</p><p>"We'll return in time for the festival," Phyco announced, overriding their conversation. He waved at his partner as he walked off. "Come along, Sol. We don't have all day."</p><p>Soliera unfolded her arms. "See you tonight, people of Melemele. Be sure to watch the skies."</p><p>They went together around the bend in the road. Then, they were gone. </p><p>Sam gazed into the cloudless atmosphere. "'Watch the skies?'" she muttered. "What are they afraid of? The world-eater?" </p><p>"The who now?" Hau said. </p><p>She shook her head. Nothing for him to worry about apparently. </p><p>"I'm going back to town," Tutu said. "There's still much left to do before tonight. Do you two need anything?" </p><p>"I'm good," Hau replied. </p><p>"I'm fine too," Sam said. "I'm just glad they're off my back. Thanks, old man." </p><p>Tutu climbed the stairs. "You're quite welcome," he called back. "Come see me when you're done here." </p><p>She turned to grab the sides of the stepladder. Her foot rested on the bottom step. "Right," she said, "let's—" </p><p>She came to a sudden stop. A heap of pastries in paper bags blocked her path. One wrong move and they would topple to the ground.</p><p>Sam untangled herself from the ladder, careful to not disturb the treats. "Hau, seriously. You went overboard." </p><p>He removed a malasada from the top step. Slivers of filling leaked from cracks in the dough.</p><p>"Are you planning to eat them all?" Sam said. "This is the whole pokébean incident all over again. Those don't seem the slightest bit healthy." </p><p>His mouth watered. It clammed shut despite his desire to dig right in. Instead, his eyes drifted to his new friend. </p><p>"I mean, I'm sorry, but I'm judging <em> hard </em>right now. Aren't you the slightest bit concerned about what those could do to you—" </p><p>He mentally shrugged. The next thing she probably knew, he stuck the malasada under her nose. </p><p>She frowned. </p><p>Hau waved it around. "You worry too much," he said. "I'm not eating it all. We're sharing." </p><p><em> "Arf?" </em> </p><p>He saw Sam's Popplio at his feet. Her eyes burned with wonder at the bag in his hands.</p><p>He showed her what he had. "You want this?" he asked. </p><p>"Poppli!" </p><p>He lowered the bag to the ground. She shoved her pink-nosed snout in its contents, grunting and squealing in excitement.</p><p>Sam took another one of the bags. She scrutinized the wrapper. </p><p>Hau's arm twitched. <em> Come on… She'll be taking a bite any moment now…  </em></p><p>"Oh," she said, twisting the bag around to show him the puffy pink Pokémon on the other side. "It's a Slurpuff." </p><p>
  <em> Yeah, it's their mascot. Eat up!  </em>
</p><p>She brought the malasada down to her mouth. </p><p>"It won't kill you to try it, you know," he coaxed her. </p><p>He couldn't get anything out of the blank look she wore. They reminded him of a stray Rockruff pup. Did he do something wrong? He couldn't have. The problem… Maybe it came from her end? </p><p>"Hau?" Sam said. </p><p>"What's up?" he said almost without meaning to. </p><p>She hesitated. </p><p>What would he do if she rejected it? Aw,<em> no. </em> It would be <em> worse </em>than anything she could say to him. Siren seemed perfectly happy with hers but other than her and Litten, who else would he give the leftovers to? </p><p>Lillie, perhaps? He gave her one once and while she and Nebby thought his favorite pastry tasted delicious, they weren't crazy about it. Any leftovers would be wasted on them. </p><p>A gasp. </p><p>Hau returned to reality. He found Sam's face similarly shoved in her bag to Siren. </p><p>She swallowed a bite. "This has a lot of sugar," she noted. "And that filling, it's…" </p><p>Oh sweet, <em> holy </em>Tapu. She couldn't possibly…? </p><p>"Tastes amazing, right?" he said. "Sweet ones are my favorite. Eating them's like being on cloud nine. It's so…" </p><p>She snorted into her snack.</p><p>"...And the way the sugar works with the filler," he said, "it's…" </p><p>"Ye-yeah," she piped in between bites. "The dough is…" </p><p>"Delicious too! Everything about it is perfect!" </p><p>Sam pulled out of her emptied bag. She crushed it up. </p><p>He hid his widening grin behind his fingers. </p><p>She grinned back just as wide. She didn't hide it or the patch of pink filling that ended up on her cheek. </p><p>"Sam," he said, shaking his head. "You went to <em> town </em> on that poor malasada." </p><p>She wiped away the pink filling and rubbed it into her wrapper. That was a waste of food. Then again, he gave it to <em> her </em>to eat. He should be focusing on his food.</p><p>Speaking of which, he should be getting to eating the <em> dozen </em> other bags he snagged. He took another one from the ladder and dug in. </p><p>While that incident with those aliens got odd, everyone came away satisfied. All there was left to do was clear Sam of suspicion. Like, <em> her? </em> A danger to <em> Alola? </em> She was a kid like him! Or, you know, she looked like one.</p><p>Everyone around him was happy. And if they were happy, he was happy. Right?</p><p>
  <em> Right.  </em>
</p><p>Mission accomplished.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I tend to listen to music while writing. As it so happens, I keep coming back to certain tracks because they remind me so much of my stories and the characters within them. If anyone's interested, I could put a playlist of what I feel fits the tone of my chapters after each of them? </p><p>Just a thought. Please let me know what you think of my rewrite of this chapter. I feel it's a hell of a lot better than Sam having these random "grey flashes"/PMD-like dimensional screams.</p><p>See you next time!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. The Malasada Thief</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em> '...And so did she go (And so did I go) </em>
</p><p>
  <em> To confront the dark (confronting the dark)  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Crying out my name (Yelling out her name)  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> She struck at its heart (I struck at its heart)  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> The beast, it did scream (The beast sobbed and screamed) </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Its plan wrought for naught (It died helplessly)  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> The black clouds parted (The sunlight returned)' </em>
</p><hr/><p>"What's that one called?" Hau said.</p><p>Sam drifted from the lanterns she hung from a tree. "It's "Ballad of the Two Sisters"," she answered.</p><p>"Sounds nice," he said. </p><p>In truth, he thought the harp music that accompanied the lyrics got repetitive, but that thought didn't have to be vocalized. He wanted to hear as much of Sam's world's music as he could before her phone died. She went along with the suggestion even though she told him what he would be listening to were either inspired by or came directly from sources he probably wouldn't understand without loads of context.</p><p>"Can I change the song?" Sam said. "It's too slow for me." </p><p>"Okay," he said.</p><p>Sam picked up her phone and started clicking around the screen. "Let's see here. I've got "Rude Buster" from <em> Deltarune</em>, "46-ri9"..." She stopped to reread the list. </p><p>Hau hovered over her. "Forty-six what?" </p><p>"That's from a game called <em> Xenoblade Chronicles," </em>she said, "but it's been mixed with an element from a Youtube channel that takes music—"</p><p>"Uh…" He had <em> several </em> questions. Like, what? And, maybe, <em> what? </em></p><p>"...Right," Sam said, watching him grow more confused. "I'm saying stuff that doesn't make sense again." Her thumb meandered over the screen. "Long story short," she said, "memes." </p><p>Memes? What in the world were <em> those? </em> "I don't get it…?"</p><p>"You don't have to," she said, jabbing a button. "Let's see what shuffle gives us."</p><p>Nothing prepared Hau for the clamor of drums that suddenly blared from the speaker. He nearly dropped his last malasada.</p><p>His new friend hadn't been ready for it either. She stiffened against the stepladder listening as the music moved on to a flute section. "I don't even—" </p><p>"What's that one?" Hau said. Getting no response from her, he read off of her phone, <em> "Pokémon Sun and Moon, </em>'H…'" He dragged out the "H" since he didn't know where to take it beyond the dots that cut it off. </p><p>"It's nothing," Sam said, pressing the pause button. The flute and other background noise died. </p><p>"It was labeled <em> Pokémon," </em>he said. "It's from those games?"</p><p>"I didn't know I had that," she said. "Maybe it's time I clean out my playlist."</p><p>Wait, <em> seriously? </em> "Don't get rid of it! How would you ever get it back?" </p><p>She kept her face down.</p><p>Hau gritted his teeth. He stared at the snack in his hands. Guess it was time for him to deploy his secret weapon. </p><p>He stuck his malasada in the space between Sam's nose and her phone. She watched him wave it around. </p><p>"What…?" Her voice trailed off. Her eyes followed the food.</p><p>"I'll split this with you if you don't get rid of that," he said. </p><p>Sam eyed the treat. She clicked out of a menu and went into another.</p><p>He held his breath. </p><p>The cut-off title of the current song greeted them. Her thumb hovered between the play option and a trio of dots. She slightly lowered the volume and, sighing, pressed the play button. </p><p>The music started up again with those enthusiastic drums. A jazzy section short after it built up to the flute. The melody almost reverberated through him. It sounded so… <em> Happy</em>, so <em> carefree, </em>so…?</p><p>"It sounds nice," Hau said. "What does it gotta do with the games?" </p><p>"No," Sam said. "The question should be what the music has to do with <em> you." </em></p><p>"What the music— Excuse me?"</p><p>Sam went into another menu triggered by the dots. She held up for him. "This," she said, "happens to be <em> your </em> theme from the <em> Sun and Moon Pokémon </em> games." </p><p>He read the words off the screen. He read them again. <em> And again. </em> Someone's theme. His theme. <em> Hau's </em>theme. </p><p>He grabbed Sam's shoulders. <em> "Why would you delete that?!" </em>he shouted. </p><p>Her muscles tightened. She wouldn't look at him. Her fingers coiled around her phone. </p><p>Hau got this odd silence from her before. She wouldn't speak when he first brought her to his hometown. He figured she had something stewing in the back of her mind. Heck, even now he still didn't know much about her.</p><p>
  <em> 'You'd be too if you realized how much your life's changed…' </em>
</p><p>That there was the problem. Besides their banter about her home country, he didn't know her life before she came to Alola. Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to ask.</p><p>The music changed from his theme to something labeled <em> Chrono Trigger. </em>An airy feeling accompanied the chimes in the song he again couldn't see the name of. Whoever Sam was as a person, she sure had a diverse taste in music. </p><p>He exhaled through his nostrils. He tended to scare her whenever he got excited. So if he was going to get anywhere with her—</p><p>"Mind turning that off?" he asked. "I'm gonna need some quiet." </p><hr/><p>They went on a trip through Route One. Hau led the way with Sam not far behind. He motioned her along to a small hill off the path. It overlooked the sea and could shade them under the leaves of two palm trees.</p><p>In other words, it was the place he found her yesterday. Sam even made note of it, to which Hau said,</p><p>"Yeah, I know. I think the view here's kinda nice. You?" </p><p>"Sure," she said. She looked plenty confused by his dragging her this far out from the festival's preparations. They didn't even consult his gramps before they left. </p><p><em> He's gonna be fine with it, </em> Hau figured. <em> We're almost done.  </em></p><p>"Why are we here?" Sam asked. </p><p>"Why'd you think?" he said. "It's familiar." He fiddled with an empty poké ball. It wasn't Litten's, who he realized he forgot back at home, but one of the few his gramps gifted him after getting his starter. "Maybe we could talk?" </p><p>"About what?" she said, taking out Siren's poké ball. She admired the ways the light bounced off of it. "Is it about the aliens?" </p><p>"I'm not worried about them," he said. Whatever they were scared of in regards to Sam didn't seem all that serious if they only kept the fear to themselves. Their suspicion of her could be completely wrong. "You'll be fine."</p><p>"So what is it?" she said. </p><p>Here goes nothing. "I wanna talk more about you," he said, trying not to force his words out. "Not as some girl who showed up here, just you, you know?" </p><p>He wasn't sure if he should have expected Sam's silence. Siren's ball rolled into her lap. She did that thing again where she scrutinized the afternoon sky. </p><p>"Like that," he decided to point out. "What's with you doing that?" </p><p>"Doing what?" she said.</p><p>"Staring at the sky." </p><p>Sam contemplated this. "You have a point," she conceded. "It's not any different from the one back home. But can you see the stars at night?" </p><p>"Why wouldn't we?" Hau said.</p><p>"You're lucky you can see yours," she said. "Light pollution ruined my world's night sky." She traded Siren's ball for her phone. "I saw it in its full glory once or twice when I was actually a kid. My dad took me to an observatory and I got to see a bit of my solar system through their telescope." </p><p>He folded his legs into his chest. "You grew up with a…?" </p><p>She stuck her hand back in her pocket and got Siren's ball again. She seemed to contemplate her belongings. </p><p>He hugged his knees. He had probably asked a silly question and shouldn't be surprised if she confirmed it. Most people did have what he was thinking of.</p><p>Sam put Siren's ball away again. "Sort of," she said. "My dad left when I was nine."</p><p>"He did?" he said. His voice rose sharply in tone.</p><p>Her head dipped. "Early puberty," she mumbled. "Hated it."</p><p>Hau cringed. "He left. Why?"</p><p>She glanced this time at the sea that stretched far beyond the island. The tides crashed on the rockface far, far below. </p><p>His arms burned, reminding him of clinging to that one protruding rock as the river roared a hundred feet below. He could picture Sam's and Lillie's despairing faces gaping at him from the cliff. Lillie seemed determined enough to carry through with his last wishes had he perished. Sam… He scared the living daylights out of her. If he went on and died...</p><p><em> No. </em> He had to stop dwelling on the past. He was here, he was safe, and he was alive. </p><p>Sam's expression soured from his earlier question. The photo gallery on her phone opened. "That's a story we don't have to go into," she said. "I sometimes talk to my dad through his parents."</p><p>"You… Do?" Hau asked quietly.</p><p>"Yeah," she said. "It's a monthly affair. I go over to their retirement home, I borrow their phone, we talk, and we go our separate ways. He's asked me to visit him, but it's hard to go anywhere when you're not in any way rich. The one time of the year you <em> do </em> get a ton of money, <em> you run screaming from an airplane." </em> She sighed. "I'm never going to live it down."</p><p>All the family Hau had here in Alola was his grandfather. The others? They, well… They sure wouldn't be having a reunion any time soon. She had been lucky to keep in touch with her dad.</p><p>"Now that I'm here," Sam said, "I'm going to miss that. His family has always been the straight men to the clowns I live with." </p><p>And that meant…? </p><p>She could see the confusion bubbling inside of him. "My dad is sane," she said. "Unlike <em> some other </em> people I know."</p><p>"I-is your dad nice?" he couldn't help blurting out.</p><p>The corner of her mouth curled. "If he wasn't, why would I talk to him?"</p><p>The picture on her phone was of a gray feline with black stripes all over its body. Its green eyes bore into him.</p><p>"Heck," Sam said, "he asked <em> me </em> to name the cat he adopted from his local shelter. I was thirteen at the time. The best name I could think of was <em> Tabitha. </em> The patterns on her mark her as being a <em> tabby </em> cat. <em> Real </em> original, huh?" </p><p>"That's… Not a Pokémon?" he said. </p><p>"Nope," she said. "We call our creatures "animals", and <em> most of us </em> don't go around catching and training them to fight. It's inhumane in our eyes." </p><p>Try as he might, he couldn't imagine living without Pokémon. Pretty much everyone everywhere carried one or more of them around to help accomplish goals and or go about their day-to-day lives.</p><p>"What do you guys do if your world doesn't revolve around Poké—" Hau caught himself. <em> "Animals?" </em></p><p>She shrugged. "I don't know. We have people who believe in higher beings and revolve their lives around them. Others pursue the development of science, and billions more live day-to-day working their… <em> Butts </em> off to survive." She put away her phone. "I'm in that third category what with going to college. </p><p>"Maybe I should say I <em> used </em> to be there now. I've suddenly become a Pokémon trainer. After so many years of wanting to leave my life behind…" Sam went back to watching the sky. "I still can't believe it's happened. Is it like your grandfather to give starters to people?" </p><p>"He's supposed to hand out Pokémon," Hau said. </p><p>"Even if they aren't on an island challenge?" </p><p>He nodded. </p><p>Sam bristled. She turned toward him. </p><p>His eyebrow rose. </p><p>"You appear to have a visitor," she murmured. </p><p>He looked around. All he could see beyond their sitting area was an empty road. "What?" he asked, swiveling back to her. "Where?" </p><p>Sam popped up right at his side. She made a gesture moving from her neck as if trying to say, 'Cut it out!' </p><p>"What is it?" he mouthed. </p><p>"Your malasada," she also mouthed. "Look!" </p><p>His snack had been cut through the middle by a set of lined ridges, or was those all teeth marks? He knew they weren't his own. The dents made by these new ones were astonishingly small. </p><p>"Who did this?" he yelled. "When?"</p><p>"Why must you scream?" Sam said, dropping any semblance of quiet.</p><p>"How?" Hau said, showing her the malasada. "I'm not screaming my name, I'm asking <em>ho—"</em></p><p>The world blurred. It stopped as suddenly as it came on with him facing a stretch of tall grass.</p><p>"I can't believe this," she said, letting him go. "You haven't noticed the <em> obvious culprit making their getaway."  </em></p><p>Oh, yeah. He saw them now. The creature who had feasted on his malasada scurried across the dirt path.</p><p>"Hey, no!" Hau said, flying to his feet. "Get back here!" He took off after it. </p><p>His thief peeked over its shoulder. The black-tipped ears over its mousey face perked. It slowed down.</p><p> "A Pichu!" Sam called. </p><p>So that was what it was? Pichu lived all over this route. They emerged once in a while to scavenge for food around Iki Town. The residents saw them as nuisances to be scared away. He never personally dealt with one since he lived further into town, but today seemed as good as any to start. </p><p>"Come back!" he yelled after the Pichu. He withdrew the poké ball in his shorts. "Litten, go and get 'em!" </p><p>He tossed the ball. And as it flew, he realized two things. One, the ball flying through the air after the Pichu was empty. Two, he left his sleepy Litten at home. </p><p>The third thing that popped into his mind? A sense of shock as the ball smacked Pichu in the back. The ball flipped open and Pichu glowed with a red light. Its shape withdrew into the light, and the light retreated into the ball. </p><p>His catch fell into the grass. It shook. </p><p>Hau gasped. He looked back at Sam. </p><p>She shook her head at him and gestured for him to turn around. </p><p>He did. </p><p>The ball shook again. </p><p>"Two…" he mumbled. </p><p>It jiggled a third time. </p><p>"Three…" he said.</p><p>The ball lolled on its side. The ring around the button flicked red. There was a small "ding!" sound. </p><p>Quiet. </p><p>"I…" Sam said. "I-I think…" </p><p>Hau jogged the poké ball. "Ohmygoshohmygoshohmy…" He made a funny squeal. He wasn't proud of the noise, but who could blame him. </p><p>"Congratulations," she said. "You've caught your first Pokémon." </p><p>Hau scooped up the ball and held it up for her to behold. "I caught something!" he said, positively glowing. </p><p>"By accident," she added. </p><p><em> "Woo-wee, </em>that was awesome!" he said. "You saw everything, right?" </p><p>"Everything," she affirmed.</p><p>"I didn't even have a Pokémon on me!" </p><p>She blinked. </p><p>He darted to her in the short span of their conversation. He grabbed her by the arm and tugged her to him. </p><p>"Hey," she yelled, "what are you—"</p><p>He brandished his catch in his other hand. "I did it!" he said. "I did the thing!" He ran around tugging a yelping Sam along for the ride. He held the newly-filled poké ball high in the air for the world to see. "I caught a Pichu!"</p><p>"I'm getting dizzy!" Sam yelled at him.</p><p>
  <em> "Yeah!"  </em>
</p><p>"Hau—" </p><p><em> "I did it!" </em> </p><p>"Please, have mercy!" </p><p>
  <em> "Wooooooooo!"  </em>
</p><p><em>"Hau,</em> <em>calm down or your extreme speed is going to send us flying off the cliff!"</em></p><p>The magic words had been spoken. Hau gasped and ceased sprinting about the hill. He steadied the dizzied Sam behind him. </p><p>"A-are you okay?" he stammered, resisting the urge to look beyond the ledge. He shuddered.</p><p>Sam held her forehead. "Ugh…" she groaned. "Now I know how it feels to be Misty after Ash caught Caterpie..."</p><p>Now <em> that </em> was an otherworld reference he could understand. He sat her with him by the palm trees. </p><p>"Sorry," he replied meekly. "I-I can't believe it. It was that easy!" </p><p>"First route captures are <em>usually</em> easy," Sam said. "You could probably get a whole team together here." </p><p>He clicked the button in the middle of Pichu's ball. This released the mouse inside in a bright light nearby. </p><p>Pichu materialized in the grass curled up in a ball. It lifted its head to squint at the sunshine. </p><p>Hau crouched in the grass. He never realized how tiny this Pokémon was. It could flee for the tall grass right now and he would never be able to find it. "Alola there, little buddy," he said. "You feeling alright?" </p><p>Pichu's ears twitched. It stared at him and the ball. "Pi?"</p><p>"I'm Hau," he told it. He gestured over at Sam, who gave them a wave. "That's Sam." He extended a hand to Pichu. "Hungry?" </p><p>His malasada was in that hand. He showed it to Pichu, who shrank away.</p><p>"It's too big," Sam warned.</p><p>He nodded and broke off the chunk Pichu bit. "Here, take it." </p><p>It took hold of the offered food. While hesitant when staring at him, it went ahead and shoved it into its mouth.</p><p>He giggled seeing the piece enlarge its cheeks. "Aw… Look at 'em go!" </p><p>It chewed through the food. "Pichu!" It said upon swallowing. "Pi!" </p><p>He gave Pichu another piece. It went to work devouring it. </p><p>"So, um… Silly question, perhaps," Sam said, coming on over, "but what gender is it? As far as I know, Pichus don't have gender differences." </p><p>He guessed that was reasonable enough. "Yeah…" he said. "Hey, Pichu. Are you a boy or a girl?"</p><p>"Chu," Pichu said. </p><p>Hau and Sam stared between it and themselves. </p><p>"Could just be me," she said. "I think it means girl?" </p><p>Pichu nodded. She digested her second piece of malasada and went for a third. </p><p>He let her have it. "Think I should give her a nickname?" </p><p>Sam shrugged.</p><p>"Pichu?" he said. "What do you think?" </p><p>Pichu ripped a chunk from the new piece of malasada she got from him. Her head bobbed. </p><p>"Is it normal for them to be this accepting of being caught?" Sam said, lowering her voice. She looked thoughtful. "...You know, if I were a Pokémon, I would want to avoid any sort of human contact." </p><p>"My gramps always said that if a wild Pokémon showed itself," he said, "it's willing to be caught. She doesn't mind it." Um, <em> right?  </em></p><p>Pichu stopped eating. She swung her head to him. </p><p>His shoulders sank. He uttered intelligently, "Uh…"</p><p>Pichu's face disappeared into the malasada. She squeaked. </p><p>"Sounds like she's fine with it," Sam said. "About that name…" </p><p>"What about Pancake?" Hau said. "Or Malasada?"</p><p>"You'd name her after a food?"</p><p>"Why not? I'd have an excuse to yell 'Malasada' in public!" </p><p>"Hau, no," Sam said rather suddenly. "You would regret it." </p><p>"That's you, not me." But maybe she had a point. People often speculated Pichu's final evolution, Raichu, got its Alolan form from eating pancakes. Would it make more sense to name her after those? "Pichu, what do you think of Pancake? Maybe Pan for short?" </p><p>Pichu nodded. "Chu!" </p><p>"I... Guess that's her name," Sam said, shrugging. </p><hr/><p>"Come on!" Hau said. </p><p>Sam's sandals battered the dirt behind him. "You're moving too fast!" </p><p>"We have to run," he called. "We can't be late for our battle!" </p><p>The world blazed a brilliant orange beneath the setting sun. Skinny white clouds zipped to the east.  Unrecognizable shapes of bird Pokémon flitted around them. </p><p>The road leading to the woodland end of Iki Town boomed with business. People wandered between carnival games, food stands, and various other stalls either for businesses in Hau'oli City or niche hobbies. Strings of lanterns had been strung high over their heads. They would be lit once the festival battle concluded. </p><p>Hau skirted around a line a people, a family of five going by the similar pale and black-haired looks of them, that walked along the path. "Excuse me!" he shouted. "Coming through!" </p><p>Once he bypassed them, he swung around at the bottom of the steps to his house and waited. </p><p>Sam caught up with him. She frowned back at the family. "Hate when people block the roads," she huffed. "They get so caught up in their little worlds that nobody else matters to them." </p><p>He lunged up the steps and raced by a crowd milling around the wooden stage. In a matter of moments, he would be doing battle up there. It would be his first and <em> Tapu Koko </em>would be witnessing it… </p><p>That little thought got him all tingly. It was hard for anyone to catch the Tapu's attention even if they were related to their chosen one. While his gramps made regular visits to the ruins, Hau personally met it twice before. He didn't even remember the first time around; he had been an infant blissfully unaware of the world when Hala first presented him to it. </p><p>The second time that he could recall? It happened when he was five. His family went through some… <em> Trouble, </em>to be put it lightly. Tapu Koko stopped by to check on them the same night the drama escalated. He could never forget the concern in its green-and-orange tinted eyes. It sympathized and stayed with Hala until sunrise.</p><p>After that, his grandfather kept on with his regular visits to the Ruins of Conflict.</p><p>Hau was left to deal with the fallout on his own. He tried talking to the Tapu every once in a while like Hala did. It would never be there to greet him when he visited. However, he <em> did </em> hear it zooming around or see streaks of lightning from its swift passage overhead from time to time. </p><p>That was the closest he ever got to it. One of these days, he swore he would personally meet Tapu Koko. He <em> had to. </em> They were family, in a way. But for now, he was content with participating in tonight's battle.</p><p>Hau slid to a stop behind the stage. </p><p>Tutu stood on this side with a giant Pokémon resembling a giant sumo wrestler. Its glove-like hands dangled over its yellow skirt and thick legs. </p><p>His gramps' Hariyama spotted Hau first. "Yama," he mumbled to his trainer.</p><p>Tutu looked up. "Ah, there you are," he said, gesturing for Hau to come closer. "Are you ready?" </p><p>"Almost," Hau said. "I'm fetching Litten." </p><p>"Go ahead and do so," he said. "I'll keep the crowd busy." </p><p>Sam popped into the conversation next to Hala. "I'm here too!" she said, huffing and puffing. "Wh-when do we—" </p><p>The front door slammed shut behind Hau.</p><hr/><p>"Litten," Hau said. </p><p>His Pokémon opened one of his eyes. He let out a big yawn that revealed his tiny white fangs.</p><p>"Get up," Hau said. "We gotta go." </p><p>He groaned and rolled away. </p><p>"We're having a battle tonight, remember? It's gonna be against Sam's Popplio, and I caught an extra teammate!" </p><p>Litten's ear twitched. He sat up. </p><p>Hau greeted him with a smile and Pancake the Pichu sticking out from his folded arms. He brought out Litten's poké ball.</p><p>Pancake squeaked a hello at Litten. She waved a stubby arm.</p><p>Litten stretched his red-stripped limbs and settled on his back legs. He blinked at her.</p><p>"How about we go out there and show 'em a good time?" Hau asked, holding the poké ball out to him. </p><p>Litten's fur bristled. He mewed. Then he swatted with his claws out at his ball. The button in the middle clicked in, causing him to dissolve into red light. </p><p>Hau pocketed it once the light subsided. "Guess we're ready now," he announced to Pichu. He veered around and rushed for the door. "Let's do this!"</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>If anyone's wondering, any random lyrics that show up in the text are from original works I work on the side. These song snippets don't fit those stories anymore, but they can relate to this one. </p><p>The snippet at the beginning references another piece of media. It might not be obvious without the full text, but if you want to guess, be my guest. </p><p>Let me know what you thought of this chapter, and see you next time!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Iki Town's Festival Battle</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Hau went back outside, he found Sam huddled behind Hariyama. She trembled as if she were a soaking wet Growlithe. "You can do this," she said, keeping her eyes on the ground. "You can go out there, not make a fool out of yourself by screaming dumb war cries like you're bashing his nose in…" </p><p>"War cries?" Hau said, strolling to her side. </p><p>Sam made a funny "Eep!" sound. She swiveled to face him. "I-I didn't realize there would be so many…" She looked past Hariyama. </p><p>"It's like that every year," he said. "People come from all over the island to watch the festival battle." </p><p>"Does that include the <em> entire </em>island?" she asked. </p><p>It did seem everyone dropped in for a visit. Men, women, children, and Pokémon alike flocked in and around the hill Hau's house was built on. They watched the stage awaiting a moment they were all looking forward to. </p><p>The battle.</p><p>He gulped. Sam, he had to admit, made a good point. "It's intimidating when you put it that way…" He straightened his back. They couldn't be afraid of other people. How would they get anywhere as trainers otherwise? "I say we don't worry about it." </p><p>Sam wasn't convinced. "What if one of us says something stupid while we're up there?" she said, shrinking. "Or what if we do something stupid or…"</p><p>Aw, come <em> on.</em> Seriously? "We're having our first battle," he said. "It's gonna be silly." </p><p>"I'm older than you. I shouldn't be…" She rambled on. </p><p>Wait, so she didn't feel like an adult. Then she turned around and said the opposite to him? What in the world?</p><p>"Sam," he said, "how old am I?" </p><p>"Eleven," she said. </p><p>"How old are you?" </p><p>"Twenty—" She hesitated. "Twenty-one— <em> Eleven?" </em>She facepalmed. "Hell if I knew."</p><p>"Twenty-one-eleven's not a bad age." </p><p>"It is if you want to be all bones in an ancient crypt. I'd rather be dead than stand in front of this crowd. And I'm <em> terrified </em>of dying!" </p><p>"They want to see us having fun," Hau said, putting his arms behind his head. "If they're you that much, how about you focus on me?" </p><p>"What if—" </p><p>"They'll be looking at our Pokémon, not us. They're the ones fighting."</p><p>"I'm commanding Siren. They'll be watching how I—" </p><p>"What were you saying about war cries?" </p><p>She paused. She appeared stunned by his very suggestion. </p><p>"Give me your best one," he ordered. </p><p>Sam swallowed. She looked him in the eye. "...Yay?" </p><p>He shook his head. "Aw, no. Yell louder." </p><p>"Yay," she said. </p><p>"Louder." </p><p>She groaned. </p><p>"Come on," he said, putting his fists on his hips. "We're not moving from this spot until I hear you loud and clear." </p><p>
  <em> "Yay."  </em>
</p><p>He sighed. Leave it to her to make the word "Yay" boring. It was a word meant to be shouted from the mountaintops! </p><p>"Let me show you how it's done," he said. He cupped his hands around his mouth. </p><p>"No," Sam whimpered. </p><p>He grinned. <em> "Wynaut?"  </em></p><p>"Do you <em> want </em>to embarrass yourself—" </p><p>
  <em> "MALASADA!"  </em>
</p><p>Almost all of the background noise died. People glanced past Hala and at the back of the stage. Hala, too, turned around to watch him. </p><p>Hau laughed to himself. Maybe it was time for him to tone things down. </p><p>Sam snuck out Hala's and Hariyama's lines of sight, though she ducked behind Hariyama all the same. </p><p>Hau stopped staring at the crowd. "Your turn," he said. </p><p>Her head whirled back and forth. "Not. A. Chance. They're <em>still</em> all looking at you." </p><p>Which was true. Dozens of eyes found their way to him. Some of them seemed amazed and others mildly annoyed. Many chuckled. Who interrupted an important speech being given by the kahuna? </p><p>His family, that's who. </p><p>"Shout back at me," Hau said to Sam. <em>"Please?"</em></p><p>She glared at him. </p><p>He smiled. </p><p>She blinked. </p><p>He blinked.</p><p>"Hau," Hala said, cutting into the unnecessary tension, "what is it—" </p><p>"I-I've fought mud—<em> Krabbys </em>more fearsome than you! Good <em>God, </em>I screwed that up!"</p><p>The recipient of the message giggled his butt off.</p><p>Sam slipped back behind Hariyama  "...There," she said. "Happy now?"</p><p>
  <em> "Yeah!"  </em>
</p><p>The cry came from within the crowd. A guy donning a lab coat and shorts broke through it from Hau's end of the platform. </p><p>"Professor," Hau said. </p><p>"You know it," Kukui said. "You two hyping yourselves up for the big battle?" </p><p>Hau's gramps went back to addressing the audience. His voice faded into the background despite how loud it got. </p><p>"I'm hyping <em> her </em>up," Hau said, jabbing a thumb at Sam. "It's working." </p><p>Sam peeked out from behind her shield. "No," she said. "It kind of just happened, so…" </p><p>"Yell another one at me," he said. </p><p>"Once was enough," she said. </p><p>
  <em> "You can do it!"  </em>
</p><p>"Never should have come here…?"  she said, wincing.</p><p>
  <em> "Then come at me!"  </em>
</p><p>"Never <em> really </em> should have come here." </p><p>"Hit me with something harder!" </p><p>"Uh..."</p><p>
  <em> "OH YEAH!" </em>
</p><p>Sam threw her hands over her ears. <em> "Zul Mey Gut, </em>Kool-Aid Man?" </p><p>Neither Hau nor Kukui understood what that meant. They smiled at one another anyway. </p><p>"On this side of the battleground," Hala said with an arm flung to the side, "we've got a trainer hailing from our little town of Iki. His name is Hau, and he's to start his island challenge shortly." He gestured at Hau without even looking back. "By that, I mean tomorrow. Get up here, boy!" </p><p>"That's my cue," Hau said. "See you up there, Sam." He hopped up the steps to the stage on his gramps' left. He surveyed the face of the crowd again now that he had a better look. </p><p>It was as Sam feared. There were more people here watching him than he would get to know in his lifetime. </p><p>At the very front of the crowd were two persons he recognized from earlier in the day. The weird space-people studied him as he got into position. </p><p>The man, Phyco, with the blue goatee and mustache, held up a funny-looking device. He had it pointed to the side, where Sam was, and he was frowning. </p><p>Soliera leaned in. She and Phyco mumbled to one another.</p><p>Hau looked away. This was nothing to worry about. Sam and him… They got this. They would succeed in getting these strangers off her back.</p><p>"Over in this corner," Gramps said, pointing to his right, "we have a newcomer to Alola. I have deemed Sam here worthy of receiving a Pokémon. Now she shall be our trialgoer's first challenger."</p><p>Sam appeared on the other side of the platform. She kept her eyes to the ground. Siren's poké ball shuddered in her hand.</p><p>"Without further ado…" Hala said. </p><p>Hau got Litten's ball from his pocket. </p><p>Sam tensed.</p><p>"Let the battle…" </p><p>Hau put one foot in front of the other. He widened his stance and pulled his arm back. </p><p>She copied the motion, using her left hand to lift her ball as opposed to his right. </p><p>He nodded encouragingly.</p><p>
  <em> "Begin!" </em>
</p><hr/><p>A hush came over everyone. </p><p>Siren and Litten's poké balls went flying. They hit the stage at the same time and materialized in flashes of light. </p><p>Litten wiggled his way into a crouch. He screamed his best little roar at Siren. </p><p>Siren looked back at her trainer. </p><p>Litten growled. His tail went still. </p><p>Siren turned around. It was just in time to spot the cat flying at her face. She yelped and rolled out of the way. </p><p>"Wa-wait!" Sam said. <em> "What is he doing?" </em></p><p>Popplio stopped in front of Sam. She stared with her mouth agape at her. </p><p><em> Did nobody explain to her how battles work? </em>As Litten closed in Siren again, it hit him. She was right to be confused. She probably knew about battles from those games she used to play. They probably worked way differently? </p><p>"Pokémon can attack and dodge by themselves," he said. "If you wanna win, you might wanna get your say in." </p><p>Sam thought about it. "Like a verbal debate?" she said. Where did she get that idea from? But hey, though. If it worked for her, it would work for both of them.</p><p>Siren leaped over Litten. She landed and opened her mouth wide. A spray of water came out as she twirled around.</p><p>Litten rolled out of its way. He too opened his mouth.</p><p>"Litten, ember!" Hau said. </p><p>Black mounds tipped in red jumped from Litten's back. A tiny orange flare burst from between his teeth. </p><p>Siren froze as the attack flew at her. The opponents were close together. It would surely hit— </p><p>"Duck!" Sam yelled. "Then spray him with a water gun." </p><p>Siren dipped out of the fire's way. It died behind her in the open air. She threw her mouth open and summoned a jet of water. </p><p>Thanks to their proximity, the attack left Siren and shot right into Litten. He slid closer to Sam shaking what seemed to be an endless supply of droplets from his whiskers. </p><p>"Good job scoring the first hit!" Hau called. </p><p>"Pound him!" Sam said. "Follow it up with another water gun." Wow, she was already combining attacks? </p><p>Siren leaped at Litten. </p><p>"Mrowr!" he cried, racing out of her reach. He went back to Hau. </p><p>"Fine, forget about the tackle," Sam said. "Prepare a water gun!" </p><p>Litten hurled another ember at Siren. </p><p>Siren lunged to the side. It quickly turned out she underestimated the assault on her. She yelped as she was hit on the hip and lost control of her water, which spilled on the stage as she toppled.</p><p>Litten wasn't far behind her. He lunged at her with his claws out.</p><p>Siren rolled again out of his way, this time successfully. She let out a growl. </p><p>He dug his claws into the platform to stop his widened strides and growled back. </p><p>"Scratch!" called Hau. </p><p>"Water gun!" called Sam. </p><p>Litten jumped on Siren as the latter lifted her flippers. A spurt of water flew from Siren and hit Litten at the same time he came down on her. </p><p>They rolled around. Sometimes Litten would get on top of the pile. Other times it would be Siren. </p><p>The crowd watched. They cheered on the two little Pokémon. In the corner of his eye, Hau spotted Phyco and Soliera again. Soliera leaned over and said something to her partner. She motioned her head at Sam. </p><p>"Water gun!" </p><p>Phyco nodded. He spoke to Soliera, but with all of the noise, he couldn't be heard. The device he carried pushed closer to his eyes.</p><p>Soliera looked up. She stiffened. She spoke rapidly.</p><p>Phyco perked up as unexpectedly as she had. He took the thing he held into both hands. His thumbs cycled around the top in the same way Hau had seen Sam do with her phone once or twice.</p><p>"Hau?" Sam said. "Are you paying <em> any </em>attention?"</p><p>The battle between Litten and Siren had waged on while he was distracted. The scene unfolding in the middle of the stage made him gasp. <em> "Litten!" </em> he shouted.</p><p>His starter Pokémon laid face-down on the platform next to Siren, who seesawed back and forth squeaking out a celebration on her way back to her trainer.</p><p>"Good job, Siren," Sam said. "We can't rest easy. Pichu usually injure themselves in battle, but there's still the chance of you being hit hard by anything it lands."</p><p>Hau took out Litten's ball. He clicked the button in the middle and watched as the beam of light collected his fallen teammate. Once Litten came back to him, he switched him for Pancake.</p><p>Sam appeared… <em> Different </em>as he held up Pan's ball. She normally had a bit of a slouch in her back. It disappeared with her arms, one of which she clung to behind her back. She scowled like she could cast a leer on him.</p><p>"Well?" she said. "Are you going to send her out or what?"</p><p>"I'm getting there," he said before pulling his arm back. "Pan? Let's do thi— <em> Augh!"  </em></p><hr/><p>When the fog of confusion cleared from Hau's mind, he discovered that somebody tackled him from the side. He had been flung from the platform to what seemed the hard, parched ground below. </p><p>"Get down!" his assailant yelled.</p><p>He ached all over the place, his head especially. Still, he opened his eyes to indeed find dirt all around him. Pan's ball rolled away from him. He reached for it. </p><p>"Wh-what was <em> that?" </em> he said, grabbing the ball and sitting up. </p><p>A guy with a blue face and even bluer facial hair met his eyes. Phyco. "Soliera," he said, "the girl?" </p><p>"Got her," Soliera shouted from somewhere around the arena. "Everyone else, <em> get out of here!" </em></p><p>Hau looked up. He came to a sudden stop. "Wh-what's <em> that?!" </em></p><p>A strange white sphere floated high over his head. It stretched backward in thin air, radiating a cobweb-like pattern around its edges. Tendrils of black flooded from the center, bathing the stage in an unnatural darkness. </p><p>People and Pokémon yelped. Quite a few screamed. </p><p>
  <em> "What is that thing?!"  </em>
</p><p>"It's gusty all of a sudden!"</p><p>Somehow, he heard Sam in what could be the chorus to a Pokémon's perish song. "Hau?"</p><p>"Sam!" he yelled back.</p><p>"Get down, all of you," Hala shouted. "We've got this!"</p><p>The ground pounded with feet and paws. Whatever just appeared, it scared the living daylights out of people. A lot of them were fleeing as if for their lives. </p><p>"I don't believe it…" Phyco said. "It can't be…" </p><p>"What?" Hau said. He surged to his knees whilst clinging to the platform. </p><p>His gramps jumped on the stage with an aged huff. Now that Hau had gotten closer to the action, he could confirm the sudden heavy wind blowing through the area. It picked up the ends of Hala's robe and widened its sleeves to the point it seemed like it would be ripped from him.</p><p>"Hariyama?" Hala said. </p><p>"Yama!" came the cry of his trusty partner Pokémon. Hau nearly lost his grip on the platform from it shaking under his bulk. </p><p>"Now who might you be," Hala said, turning to face the sphere, "to crash our party?" </p><p>The creature floating in front of him shrieked. Hau winced when it echoed. What sort of… <em> What </em> could cause that much ear pain?</p><p>A giant creature hovered over the platform. Its coloration seemed as dark as the blackest of pits. Just its face and eyes showed more color. Marks of three different pigments filled out its cheeks. Blue pupils, contained in eyes of orange and red, darted about.</p><p>"Kahuna!" Phyco said, launching to his feet. "Get out of there. You don't know what you're dealing with!" </p><p>"Hau!" Sam shouted again. She dashed around the corner holding Siren. </p><p>Phyco pushed Hau away. "No," he said, getting between them, "stay back, you—" </p><p>The creature screeched again. It left the hole and dove for the ground. </p><p>Sam screeched something awful like a mangled curse word. She ducked, dropping her Popplio, which made the alien's goal of swooping her into the air by the back of her shirt much easier.</p><p>"Sam!" Hau cried. He turned on the creature. "What do you think you're doing with her?" </p><p>The creature held Sam up to its face.</p><p>She stared into its eyes. "Nec-" she stopped, gulping. The confidence Hau saw in his battle with her faded in the span of a finger snap. "Oh, wow…"</p><p>"Hariyama," Hala said, "force palm!"</p><p>The sumo wrestler Pokémon went into a run. It lifted its fist. </p><p>"Old man," Sam said, turning around. Her eyes widened. "Please—" </p><p>The creature flew out of the range of Hariyama's hand. It glared at it, then at Sam. </p><p>"What do y-you want with <em> me," </em> she said, <em> "Necrozma?"  </em></p><p>Soliera traded looks with Phyco. </p><p>"Necrozma?" Hau echoed. <em> That </em> was the name of this thing? He climbed on to the stage and went to stand by Hala. "Hey, let her go!" </p><p>Hala shook his head at him. "Hau, get back," he warned.</p><p>"We've got this," Soliera said. She withdrew the strange-looking pokéball he had seen on her much earlier in the day. She threw it at the platform. <em> "Stay. Away." </em></p><p>A furry white dog with a black muzzle burst from the ball. It bent low, growling.</p><p>Necrozma fixed a claw over Sam's bewildered face. The claw glowed. For a moment, the world was still. Sam's chest heaved. She fell into the side of a blade protruding from Necrozma's shoulder.</p><p>"Phyco," Soliera said, "status reading?"</p><p>Phyco held up the device Hau saw him use earlier. It seemed to be a tablet from which he read off the screen. "The faller is in a state of possession," he said as he did. "Necrozma is searching for the same energy we sensed from her." </p><p><em> Possession? </em> No way... They meant to tell him that it took over <em> her mind? </em> What was it about to do? Mold her into some freak of nature like he had seen in countless horror movies before? </p><p>"Could we free her?" he blurted. He brought out Pancake's ball.</p><p>Necrozma's eye flickered from Sam. It landed on him. </p><p>He startled. </p><p>Sam plummeted to the ground. As unconscious as she was, this forced a gasp from her.</p><p>"Sam!" Hau cried, watching her sprawl on them like a broken doll. He ran forward again.</p><p>His gramps stopped him from advancing on her. "Boy," he said, pushing him back, "how many times have we told you to get out of here!" </p><p>Hau retreated, stunned almost by his gramps' words. He kept staring at Sam. Was she okay? Would she be okay? She didn't fall far, but his thoughts and heart still raced at the thought of her being hurt. She just laid there helplessly. He wanted <em>badly</em> to go in and drag her from the mess.</p><p>"I have to concede," Phyco said, looking up from his tablet. "The energy we've been sensing isn't radiating from the girl. It's coming from…"</p><p>A black device that blended in almost seamlessly with Necrozma's palm exploded in a shower of orange and blue sparks. The light absorbed into its body. </p><p>"It <em> was </em> coming from that," Soliera finished for Phyco. </p><p>Necrozma glowed in a golden light. Just as the change came on, the color faded, leaving it in its original dark-colored body. Sparkling pieces of what was once Sam's phone fell to the ground around her motionless body.  </p><p>"Whatever the energy source was," Phyco said, "it didn't do a thing to change Necrozma's physical state." </p><p>Hau stared at the destroyed device. Its pieces lay scattered all over the platform. They were <em>go</em><em>ne </em> like the wind that carried Necrozma out of that portal. There would be no more pictures of weird-looking cats and black-haired smirking guys. Nor would he get the opportunity to listen to that song, <em> his theme, </em>again. </p><p>Sam shuddered. Her eyes opened to reveal her hazel pupils. She gazed straight and blank at Hau.</p><p>Necrozma roared and lunged after her. It rammed into Hariyama's fist.</p><p>"Can you move?" Hala roared at Sam. "Get outta here!"</p><p>She rolled to her feet. Hariyama went in for another attack behind her, leaving her yelping as she ducked out of the way. She jumped away from the stage.</p><p>Hau signaled her to run to him. He grabbed her by the arm as soon as she got close enough. "You alright?" he said.</p><p>"I-I'm fine," she said.</p><p>He yanked her from the battle and rushed for the edge of the Mahalo Trail. He only looked back once they put some distance between themselves and the fight. </p><p>"Necrozma, huh?" he said. "That sure showed up at nowhere." </p><p>"You've got that right," somebody said. Professor Kukui then emerged behind a nearby tree. He waved. "You two. Over here!"</p><p>Hau dragged Sam to Kukui. They grouped behind the tree's massive trunk. </p><p>"Professor," Hau said. "Why didn't you run?"</p><p>"And miss seeing that new Pokémon in action?" he said. Hau's bewildered expression made him change his. He grew more serious and lifted a blue seal from the grass. "I got Popplio out of that mess."</p><p>"Siren!" Sam said, snatching her from him.</p><p><em> "Plio pop!" </em> Siren barked. She hugged her around the neck. </p><p>Sam squeezed her. She turned to Necrozma hovering out of Hariyama's and the dog's reach. "One minute, I'm in the air, the next," she held Siren tighter, "my skin is prickling." </p><p>She showed him an innumerable amount of bumps on her arm. The hairs in them had straightened. </p><p>"Phyco said it <em> possessed </em> you," Hau said.</p><p>She curled into herself. "It was overwhelming," she said. "I felt nothing. Then these thoughts that weren't mine forced their way into my brain." She squeezed Siren until she gasped.</p><p>"You'll suffocate her," Kukui warned. </p><p>Sam's arms and legs went limp. She fell into the tree. Siren dropped in her lap. "I felt emotions that weren't my own," she said, her voice wavering. <em> "</em>All I saw in it was <em> hate. </em>I've felt a burn like that from others. I've even experienced it myself." She looked back at the battle. "Those feelings were never as intense as the ones it… <em>Necrozma</em> shared with me." </p><p>Back on the battlefield, Hariyama missed another attack on Necrozma. The latter lifted a rock with psychic energy and launched it at him. </p><p>Hariyama leaped out of the way. The rock exploded a foot from Hala. He used an arm to protect his face from the gravel shooting all over the place.</p><p>"This one's harder to hit than a Crabrawler on a frenzied berry-eating spree," Hala said. "We'll need a long-range fighter."</p><p>A big, round Pokémon emerged next to him. There was a massive spiral on its white belly and what seemed as if to be gloves on its arms. It, alongside Hariyama, was one of his closest companions. Poliwrath.</p><p>"Hydro pump!" Hala called. </p><p>A stream of water more powerful than Siren's rumbled from Poliwrath's spiral. It blasted the spikes jutting out of the armor on Necrozma's head. </p><p>The force pushed Necrozma back. It screeched. </p><p>"Necrozma is lashing out," Sam said. "I don't know why."</p><p>A large bird zoomed into the battle from out of nowhere. It stopped in midair to grab one of the strings hanging from its hood and lined it up with its wing. A thin arrow materialized on the string. </p><p>
  <em> "Fire!" </em>
</p><p>The arrow went flying. It descended on the battlefield in a series of zigzags that made it hard to follow. It made a final turn next to Necrozma and struck. A gust of hot air tinted in purple blew out of the impact. </p><p>Necrozma shrieked. The impact had enough force behind it to throw it into the platform. </p><p>One of its new opponents, a figure in a green cloak, swished onto the scene. They fixed their hood. </p><p>Hau gasped. <em> "Decidueye Man?!" </em></p><p>"The road ends here, Necrozma," Decidueye Man said. "You're surrounded." </p><p>"Who are you?" Soliera said, standing beside her Pokémon… Furfrou was its name? He would have to ask Sam to confirm for him later. </p><p>"A stranger," Decidueye Man said, "jumping in to give you aerial support." </p><p>Hala's Pokémon piled on the fallen opponent. Hariyama pulled its arm back. Brown energy gathered around its hand. It brought it down.</p><p>Necrozma swiveled. Hariyama's fist crashed into the wood where it formerly laid. It took the air again. </p><p>"Spirit shackle may keep it on the battlefield, but not on the ground," Hala said. "We could use your help again." </p><p>"Phantom?" Decidueye Man said. "Prepare another spirit shackle." </p><p>"Deci!" Phantom replied notching another arrow. He aimed at his opponent.</p><p>Necrozma looked about. It and Hau saw each other. Its eyes burned with absolute fury.</p><p>Hau swallowed. He broke eye contact. </p><p>Another gust picked up. The air around Necrozma twisted. </p><p>"It's summoning another ultra wormhole," Phyco said.</p><p>"Decidueye's move is meant to keep it here," Decidueye Man said. "It can't possibly—"</p><p>"Furfrou," Soliera ordered, "tackle!" </p><p>Her dog Pokémon rushed ahead. It jumped at Necrozma.</p><p>Necrozma moved to its left. A portal that looked like the one it originally appeared in opened over its head. It had the cobweb design Hau previously noticed radiating in it. The difference, it seemed, was that it spread from the portal, or ultra wormhole, rather than flow into the great unknown. </p><p>"It doesn't hold?" Decidueye Man said, sounding surprised. "This is new."</p><p>"We'll have to give chase," Phyco said. A poké ball like the deep blue one Soliera carried her Furfrou in appeared in his hands.<em> "Girl!" </em> </p><p>Hau, Kukui, and Sam traded looks. </p><p>"I think he means you," Hau said to Sam. </p><p>"Yeah?" she shouted to Phyco.</p><p>"I'd like to apologize for mistaking you as the one who brought this monster to this island," Phyco said. "Your mysterious tablet was the cause of the distortion in space." </p><p>Sam eyed the charred pieces around the feet of him and the other trainers. Her hand went for her shorts. She turned out her pockets.</p><p>"It blew up your phone while you were out of it," Hau said when she found nothing aside from her trainer card in them. </p><p>Her eyes widened. "No…" </p><p>Necrozma roared. Its ultra wormhole blipped out of existence. Its shaded form darted across the sky.</p><p>"It didn't leave?" Soliera said. "What is it…?" </p><p>Necrozma swooped at the platform.</p><p>"Hala!" Decidueye Man yelled. "Look out!" </p><p>Hau's grandfather yelped suddenly. The beast dragged him off the ground. He hung by the back of his robe in as much of a state of shock as those around him.</p><p>Hau's heart almost stopped. He stayed where he was fastened to the earth like the trees. </p><p>Necrozma spun from the spectators. A third wormhole materialized nearby.  </p><p>"What do you think <em> you're </em>doing?!" its captive spat. "Hariyama, Poliwrath, protect Ha—" </p><p>It screeched over him. The kahuna was thrown like one would a football. Everyone watched as he sailed through the air, screaming something awful that rang worse in Hau's ears than Necrozma's harsh voice. </p><p>The wormhole caught him. There was a flash of yellow, and Hala had vanished into its great white beyond. </p><p><em> "No!" </em> Hau yelled. He hurried into the open.</p><p>Necrozma floated to the wormhole. Its multi-colored eyes gleamed with a mysterious purpose. </p><p>Hau heaved on to the platform. He rushed into the scene.</p><p>Hau's gramps' Hariyama's arm shot out as he ran by him. Hau slammed into it, forcing air from his lungs. He stumbled away shaken. </p><p>"Hau," Sam said, scrambling after him. "Stop!"</p><p>Hau fell to his knees. He transfixed on Necrozma. </p><p>His grandfather's kidnapper didn't look back. After the show it put on, it passed through the wormhole in complete silence. The wormhole shimmered black in its wake. Its energies turned in on themselves and swirled smaller and smaller until, finally, they popped out of existence. </p><p>He clenched his fists. This couldn't be happening. Tutu couldn't have been taken away that easily. The current kahuna was known for earning the Tapu's respect through his strength. Nobody, not even that Pokémon, could <em>rip</em> <em>him away</em> from his beloved Melemele Island.</p><p>Hala's Poliwrath's shoulders slumped. He staggered to Hariyama, who shut his eyes. </p><p>Hau couldn't have been left all alone. This never happened. He just underwent a terrible nightmare. That was all it was, right? All was well. </p><p>Gramps was okay.</p><p>Everything was okay. </p><p>Everything… </p><hr/><p>Everything was far from well. Buried under a warm blanket was a young boy with his face shoved deep into a fluffy pillow. He didn't dare move from his bed in the large bedroom he shared with his grandfather… </p><p>If he still had one. After Hala disappeared, Hau didn't remember anything that led to him laying her in bed. He couldn't find the will to pay them mind with the tears pooling in his eyes.</p><p>The sun eventually went down. Sam asked him at one point if he wanted to turn on the lamp in the corner of the room. He refused and went back into his sheets. He couldn't find the will to look up at anyone and sought solace in them alone.</p><p>He was aware of the two Pokémon huddled together in the next bed over. They stayed there despite his attempts to ward them off. Every time one approached, he rolled away and hid his face. Nobody, not even his team, should see the last of kahuna's Alolan kin like this.</p><hr/><p>Sam sat on the living room couch. She could feel the wind blowing in from the open blinds behind the kahuna's throne. The salty and strong burnt smells brought in by them strangely comforted her at this uneasy time. People were probably out there doing <em> something </em>for the festival, even if they were being quiet about it.</p><p>"I've never seen him be this inconsolable," one of the women in front of her said. </p><p>"You weren't around when he was a toddler," the other said. "If he got especially upset, he would more often than not cry for hours. He's gotten better at handling his emotions with age. I suppose when things take a turn for the worse, however…"</p><p>Sam tossed Siren's ball from one hand to the other. The simple task kept her mind from straying far from the conversation at hand. Not that she <em> could </em> go far from it. </p><p>Iki Town was swallowed in discussions such as the one these women held with her. Kahuna Hala this, Kahuna Hala that, the festival is <em> ruined, </em> poor Hau… She wanted to check on Hau again, but something told her nothing would come out of the interaction.</p><p>Hau's attitude did a complete three-sixty from this morning. He had been so <em> happy </em>watching Sam savor his favorite treat. He grew happier still when adding Pancake to his team. It scared her to watch him sink to the level of a Slakoth. The Hau in the next room over wasn't one bit of the same boy. </p><p>Necrozma's possession of her had been brief. She still flinched at the red-hot iron that accompanied its thoughts. When it didn't get what it wanted from her, the hatred bubbled up. She suffered the consequence of being hurt. It reminded her, in a way, of a certain people she once resided with. They were toddlers in adult suits ready to throw tantrums if nobody listened to their inane demands. </p><p>She should have thanked Hala more when she had the chance. The old man had a head on his shoulders, even if she grew wary of him after a side-story she picked up while around these gossiping women. According to them, he had a reputation for being strict with those he mentored or advised. </p><p>Could his attitude around her have been influenced by her older age? ...No. That couldn't be it. Since when should age play a factor in one's respect for another? Sometimes the older folk didn't deserve that special attention.</p><p>Sam hung around Hau a lot since they met. Thanks to the gossip, she came to the conclusion Hala had been softer around her because of Hau. Perhaps he was afraid of driving off one of his grandson's new friends.</p><p>How many friends did Hau have, anyway? He was friendly with Professor Kukui. Lillie seemed to like him well enough after what happened yesterday. Was there anyone else he spoke or hung around with? <em> I'd ask if those weren't rather personal questions… </em> </p><p>The broken pieces of her phone were still scattered outside on the platform she and Hau fought on. They were worthless to anyone and everything now. But in life…</p><p><em> All of this happened because of me.  </em> She should have thrown away the thing keeping her anchored to her old home when she had the chance. It had no use here other than confusing the hell out of Hau. And Hala would still be here if she threw away her past. They, and the whole island, would be out there celebrating their guardian deity. Everything would have been <em> perfect.  </em></p><p>She growled. <em> This is all </em> your <em> fault. </em> You <em> might have </em> killed <em> that boy's family!  </em></p><p>There could be blood on her hands. Even if nobody outside of Hau, Kukui, and the aliens connected the dots as she had, this could weigh on her for as long as she lived. </p><p>Sam stood. She went over to Hau's bedroom</p><p>The women stopped their conversation. They turned on Sam. </p><p>"Is something wrong?" one of them asked her. </p><p><em> Screw it. </em> She needed to see him again. "I'm going in," she announced, sliding the door aside. "See you." <em> And thanks for the extra information. </em></p><hr/><p>The door slipped back in place behind Sam. She soaked in the silence this new room offered her. Tingly feelings wriggled in her skin. The hairs on her arms and legs rose in attention.</p><p>"SO WE FINALLY MEET."</p><p>Sam recoiled. Her hand went for Siren's ball. "Who's there?" she called, looking around in the darkness. "How did you get in?" </p><p>"THE PORCH DOOR," the new raspy and clamorous voice said. "MY CHOSEN ONE NEVER LOCKED IT."</p><p>There was a quiet moment. She planted her feet on the ground. Something told her that she knew the speaker. At the same time, she didn't want to believe it.</p><p>The thing conversing with her sighed. "YOU ARE CONFUSED," it said. "LET ME FIND A LIGHT." </p><p>Yellow sparks zipped through the darkness. The lamp by her switched on. Its silvery string thumped into the stand that held the light up. This produced a procession of hollow notes that grew softer the longer the string swung. </p><p>The sparks glinted around the creature who floated to her. Its massive decorative shields encircled thin black arms that ended in pinchers. </p><p>Sam's eyes darted back to the door. She grabbed the handle. </p><p>"YOU'RE NOT RUNNING AWAY," the talking Pokémon said, "ARE YOU?" </p><p>It let its arms fall away to reveal its thin body and simple face. Green eyes tinted halfway in orange blinked. Two spikes on the lower half of its head mimicked a mouth and the third above them reminded her of a unicorn horn. Spikes reminding her of a hair comb sliced down the back of its head. The very top of the comb, spaced out as opposed to the rest, set off memories of two people who similarly set their hair like them. And one of them…</p><p>Hau laid in his bed at the rear of the tiny room. His back was to them. It rose and fell in a relaxed manner.</p><p><em>He's asleep, </em>Sam figured. Who knew when he would wake again?</p><p>She spotted another bed across from his. It encompassed a gigantic flat mattress, maybe queen-sized, in a wooden frame. The bed was neatly made, with ironed sheets and a fluffed pillow. The thin blanket tossed over its sides rather than straight up and down over the pillow was the only thing that threw her off. </p><p>She crept to the porch. Seeing its construct, she didn't have to wonder how the Tapu got in so easily. For one, the doorway had been rolled up overhead. For two, it would have been incredibly easy to slide by even if it were put down. It was made of delicate timber like almost everything else in this home. </p><p>"Tapu Koko?" Sam said, lowering her voice. </p><p>It nodded. "I WISH TO SPEAK WITH YOU." </p><p>So it just wanted to chat? No, 'Oh, <em>you </em>killed the kahuna,' or 'Welp, time for you to die now, kiddo'? And her, talk with a <em> Pokémon? </em>One with a legendary status? A being that should have been conversing with <em>Hala </em>instead of <em> her? </em> </p><p>"I DON'T UNDERSTAND THE LOOK YOU WEAR," the Tapu said. "YOU ARE UNFAZED BY A POKÉMON BEING ABLE TO SPEAK, YET ARE PUT OFF BY MY APPEARANCE?" </p><p>Well, yes. "I wasn't expecting to run into you," Sam said. </p><p>It floated to her. "WHY WOULDN'T I APPEAR? MY CHOSEN WAS STOLEN AWAY BEFORE THE ISLAND'S EYES. ALL OF ALOLA WILL KNOW OF WHAT HAPPENED HERE BEFORE THE NIGHT HAS PASSED." </p><p>"Where were you earlier?" she asked. "Hala and the others could have used your help in fighting off Necrozma. Maybe <em> you </em> could have saved <em> your </em>kahuna?" </p><p>Tapu Koko stared at her. </p><p>Sam gulped when she listened to her own words. She knew she was speaking with a worshipped deity. Did she overstep her bounds?</p><p>The Tapu went to the porch. It looked over its shoulder when it got in the doorway. "...SAM, WAS IT?" it said. "MEET ME AT THE TOP OF THE MAHALO TRAIL. DO NOT BRING ANYONE, EVEN YOUR POKÉMON, WITH YOU. AND <em>DO</em> <em>NOT</em> KEEP ME WAITING." </p><p>It flew off into the atmosphere. Sparks of lightning crackled in its wake. Sam rushed onto the porch to watch the lightning curve beyond the hill and disappear into the trees. Its light flickered in the night sky for a time before the stars behind them became visible.</p><p>Something creaked. She eyed a shifting Hau through the window's blinds. Perhaps he heard the rumbling and was about to awaken. She crept into the house and moved at a snail's pace across the room. </p><p>The sheet on the bed across from Hau twisted. A snout belonging to a yellow mouse poked out from under it. Bright white pupils followed them outside.</p><p>"Pancake," Sam said.</p><p>"Pi," the Pichu said, sitting up. The blanket fell over her big ears. They dropped to hold its weight. </p><p>Sam gestured at Pancake's trainer. "Watch him for me. I'm going out." </p><p>Pancake nodded. She dove from Hala's bed. The floorboards groaned.</p><p>Sam looked one last time at the body curled in a taut crescent across from her. It rose and fell with his calmed breaths. Even though this was him deep in the thralls of sleep, she found it strange to see him not smiling. He was like sunshine. Nobody realized how much they valued the presence of light until it left their lives. </p><p>"I'll make it up to you, kid," she whispered, turning away. "I'll do it somehow."</p><p>She made sure to close the door behind her on her way out.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This was a doozy of a chapter to write. I got *one* idea to mix things up and it made things a hell of a lot worse for everyone than Tapu Koko stealing away some girl would ever do. </p><p>And, of course, this happened right after people told me they were enjoying what I was doing with Hau. Well, *Hau* do you like what I'm doing now?!</p><p>…I think I'll go before I completely ruin the mood. See you next time! </p><p>-0-0-</p><p>11/24/20: I've been reflecting on my stylistic choices between this story and my other fic Seeing Red. I'm finding that I miss the first-person perspective. It usually helped to flesh out the characters.</p><p>Perhaps the next chapter will be written that way? Or maybe I'll write in first-person and change into third before posting? We'll see. I'm going back and forth a lot on this today.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Late Night Chats</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Trees. All around her were trees. Sam stumbled past row after row of them on her way back up the Mahalo Trail. Now that she wasn't breezing through them, she was struck by how well the tall lush trees she was used to at home intrinsically blended in with Alola's slender elegant palms.</p><p>The moonlight guided her through the trail's twists and turns. It was times like this where she wished she still had her phone. The flashlight would have come in handy. But <em> nope. </em> It <em> had </em> to die. Necrozma must have been desperate for a meal. </p><p>Necrozma's shared emotions still stuck with Sam. There were many gears to that machine. Sure, there had been anger. And sure, she felt numb all over even now from what she was put through. One detail stuck out at her while she rounded what she remembered to be the last bend in the path. </p><p>She had called Necrozma a toddler. It didn't get what it wanted, so it lashed out. She came out of the encounter with a few bruises and cuts even though she could have sworn it threw me from several feet in the air. Perhaps what Hau said about humans being durable was true. </p><p>What if Necrozma hurt her because it was frustrated? It was hungry, and her phone fed it for the briefest of moments. It needed more, and <em> way more, </em> if it were to survive. It needed…</p><p><em> No, Sam. Stop. </em> Why was she compassionate toward a creature who <em> hurt </em> her? It didn't deserve empathy. So why did she feel that numbness? Why did her heart skip a beat whenever the beast was mentioned or thought of? </p><p>The continuous crash ahead got louder as she went along. She was coming close to reaching the top of the trail. </p><p>"Tapu?" Sam said. "Are you here?" </p><p>She should have brought a flashlight or similar along with her. The treeline she exited from could barely be seen around her</p><p>She took some wary steps forward. The sound of the rushing water came ever closer. "I've come," she said. "What do you need me for?" </p><p>The darkness flashed yellow. A slender creature emerged from the electrical sparks.</p><p>"YOU," Tapu Koko said. It looked ahead of us. "SIT OVER THERE." </p><p>Sam stared in the same direction. "Sit… <em> Where?" </em>She meant, no offense, but she had been wandering in darkness. What if it accidentally led her off the cliff?</p><p>Tapu Koko drifted back into the darkness. Its electricity crackled. More sparks appeared. They coalesced in a glow that burned her retinas. She was forced to look away.</p><p>"OVER HERE," it said. "I'M NOT WAITING ALL NIGHT." </p><p>The light rendered the ground around her visible. She went ahead and followed the stream until it glared right over her.</p><p>"You're not asking me to sit on the edge, are you?" she said. </p><p>Sam spotted the posts that once held down the ill-fated bridge. Koko's light stopped between them.</p><p>"You a-are?" she sputtered. </p><p>"MOVE IT!" Koko boomed.</p><p>She involuntarily squeaked. Did it have to be so loud? </p><p> "I DON'T HAVE PATIENCE FOR THIS COWARDNESS," it said. "DO NOT MAKE ME SETTLE YOU DOWN LIKE A CHILD. I MIGHT JUST FLING YOU OFF THE CLIFF." </p><p>Now that was just wrong <em> and </em> a bit rude. But who was she to argue with a worshipped deity who probably had it all going to their head?</p><p>Sam sat with her legs folded at the brink of the cliff. Beyond the light were a gloomy void and the rushing river. She shivered from their closeness. One wrong move and she could plummet into them. </p><p>"PUT YOUR LEGS OVER THE EDGE," Koko said. </p><p>"But—" </p><p>"DO YOU WANT ME TO BE CIVIL?" it said. "I COULD ALWAYS DROP YOU IN THE RIVER IF YOU'RE UNCOOPERATIVE."</p><p>Would it <em> seriously </em> do that? Excuse her if she didn't want to put her life in danger. </p><p>As it glared at her, she unfurled one leg and put it over the cliff. The lower half of her knee dangled freely over the abyss. Her toes clung to her sandal. It would surely slip if she were to uncurl them. </p><p>She tossed her trembling alternate leg over the side. Her arms steadied her on her way to the ground. The gasps coming from her turned slow and heavy. Keeping a rhythm of deep breaths until she relaxed never felt right. She didn't <em> want </em> to unwind. Drifting in a blank mind felt wrong to her. </p><p>For whatever reason, it seemed to work here, where she could perish should the tapu get it in its head to push her into the chasm. She needed to tread carefully. </p><p>"There is something <em> different </em> about you," the tapu said.</p><p>Sam's shoulders drooped. She tried focusing more on her breathing. "You're asking a lot of me," she said. "This is the best I can handle…" <em> ...Wait…  </em></p><p>Tapu Koko got eye level with her. This required its orange skirt to drag along the ground. It didn't seem to mind, and her mind was largely elsewhere when it came to questions. Questions, such as…</p><p>"Did you just talk normally?" she said. </p><p>"Would you prefer to be screamed at?" it said.</p><p>"No," she answered, perhaps quicker than she would have preferred. Having it hold to formalities sure would be better than it sinking to the level of her relatives. "Why did you call me here?" </p><p>"Straight to the point?" the tapu said. "I had been expecting you to slip-up and mention an item of non-importance. That is the way you work, is it not?" </p><p>She frowned. "You mean the references to stuff from my world? Video games and pop culture are the things I know best. I guess I can't help bringing them up when I can." </p><p>"Lose those attachments, young one," it said. "You will be stuck in this world for the foreseeable future. Others will alienate you if they cannot understand you, including the youth you've come to call a friend."</p><p>Sam balked, if unintentionally. Give up her connections to her old life? Sure, her old life sucked, but not that much. Who would she be without those connections? </p><p>"Tell me," Tapu Koko said, "did you live a fulfilling life outside of those spheres? Your world, I understand, does not orbit around the constant use of creatures as ours does."</p><p>She grabbed the cliff. "How did you know that?" she said. "You're not…" </p><p>"I am the tapu," it said. "I get to choose what I pay attention to. You have been a fascinating specimen up to this point." It glanced over its shoulder. "You no longer interest me now that I see you are nothing special beyond your knowledge of Pokémon. You have not done much to expand your horizons in your twenty-one years of life." </p><p>Talk about a blow to her self-esteem. What Tapu Koko said of her <em> was </em> true,  she supposed. Up until now, she followed the path most other kids did until they graduated high school. She was one of those who chose to go to college afterward, though admittedly, progress toward getting her diploma in… <em> Whatever </em> went as slow as molasses. How many terms had she been going there taking one or two classes a term? <em> Six?  </em></p><p>Not helping was Sam's penchant for staying home. Sure, it benefitted her at times. Her home city of New York became dangerous in some neighborhoods. That was not even getting into recent events where <em> everyone </em>had to stay home due to a biological threat to society. Outside of limiting the spread, it heightened tensions in her household.</p><p><em> …God, </em>no. She utilized her right to vote when she could, yet she didn't have a job. She relied on financial aid money, her mom, and her grandparents' social security checks to get by. Overall, she was a pathetic excuse for a member of society. That girl who lost her way in middle school never grew up. </p><p>Her mind lingered over the disappointed and aggressive words of her grandparents and mother from years past. </p><p><em> 'Why are you going to a </em> community <em> college?'  </em></p><p><em> 'When will </em> you <em> ever get a job?'  </em></p><p><em> 'What are your plans when we're dead and </em> you <em> aren't? Where are you going to be in ten years? Will you be stuck in this rathole of an apartment for the rest of your days?' </em></p><p>
  <em> 'How do you expect to get anywhere if you sit on your ass all the time?!'  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Sam, who are you?  </em>
</p><p>"My words appear to have affected you," Tapu Koko said. "Why?" </p><p>It was right about her being behind the curve. Sam was never an average joe. She was probably lagging far before those she graduated high school with. Though she felt terrible, she felt no real pressure to change her course. And because of this sentiment, she would never amount to anything.</p><p>"I'm nothing," she said. "All I do is absorb the world around me. What I am hasn't mattered one bit." </p><p>"Were you satisfied with that life?"</p><p>A breath escaped her. She continued avoiding the gaze of the void. </p><p>"I tend to lose myself in daydreams," she said. "They helped me escape my day-to-day life. In some, I would become an explorer of mysterious dungeons. In others, I'd be a mage who dabbled in archery so I could shoot random guardsmen and then make them kill each other with fury-inducing spells." <em> Ugh, me. </em> Did she have to be so specific? "It was fun, and I wished I could be part of their worlds to do fun stuff like that. Then it never happened until…"</p><p>"Now that you are here," the tapu said, butting into her long-winded speech, "you may make better use of some of your knowledge. Thus, you have become a trainer."</p><p>"I made a promise to Siren that I would help her become a Primarina one day," she said. "What if we can't attain that ideal because of my incompetence?"</p><p>"You will be traveling with Hau, will you not?" </p><p>She sighed. "After today, I'm not sure if he would be willing to go anywhere. We don't know what happened to Hala." </p><p>"My chosen one may be gone," the tapu said. "I will need to name a successor if he doesn't return in a few months." It gazed into the darkness with her. "Hau cannot give in to despair. He will learn to live with his loss, if it is permanent, with time. It may not even sting after the initial shock wears off. He has lost others of his family before." </p><p>"Like his parents?" Sam said. "He's never made any mentions of either of them." </p><p>"One left him nearly a decade ago. The other passed in an unfortunate accident. You may find on your travels he fears a certain Pokémon because of what happened that day." </p><p>She held on to the cliff. "Are you…" she stopped to collect herself. "Are you saying that one of them was <em> killed?" </em></p><p>Koko sighed. "Yes."</p><p><em> Damn. </em> As if she didn't have enough reason to feel terrible. "The old man was taken because of me," she said. "He could be forever lost to us or dead. Maybe even both."</p><p>"That is why you will traverse Alola? You feel that you have to repent?"</p><p>Yeah. That could be it. She scrambled to her feet. Maybe… <em>Maybe...</em> Maybe that was what she could do. Maybe that would be her purpose.</p><p>"Tapu, is there anything I could do to help him?" Sam said. "Anything at all?"</p><p>Koko blinked. She guessed she might have surprised it. </p><p>"I think I know what I want to do," she said. "I want to assist him in any way I can, even if my role is as minor as—" </p><p>The ground left her. She yelped and flung her arms out in an attempt to steady her legs. She had no such luck, and she tumbled off the cliff. </p><p>The darkness of the abyss enveloped her. Air roared through her hair and clothes and flung them in all sorts of directions. She screamed and slammed her eyelids shut. Their insides welcomed her with more gloom.</p><p>This could be it. She could die. Her failure of a life led to this one moment. Goodbye, she supposed— </p><p>A flash of light zipped around her, and she stopped falling. She opened her eyes. The tapu's pinchers held her trembling arms as it returned her to safety. </p><p>"YOU CAN NOT DO THAT IF YOU ARE DEAD," it said, "STUPID GIRL." </p><p><em> "You're </em> the one who told me to sit on the edge!" Sam yelled back. </p><p>It dropped her by her feet on the cliff. She scurried from its ripening glare. Her chest jumped up and down. </p><p>"Maybe you have a point," she said, trying not to picture her bones breaking into a million pieces upon impacting the water far, far below. "I think." </p><p>Koko wouldn't stop glaring at her. A bolt of electricity zipped around it. </p><p>She squeezed her arms together behind her back. "Fi-fine, you <em> do </em>have a point," she said, bowing her head. "Thank you for saving my life." </p><p>Its tone dropped again to a regular volume. "You can appropriately thank me by seeing Hau to the end of his island trials," it said. "In the meantime, I have a small task for you to fulfill." </p><p>A massive Pokémon lumbered into their conversation. This was Hala's Hariyama, one of the two Pokémon he had sent into battle before he was kidnapped. Its palm unfurled to reveal an item.</p><p>Sam took a surprisingly well-rounded gem from it. The crystals that made it up reflected her curious face. "What is this?" she asked, holding it up.</p><p>"Are you familiar with z-moves?" Koko said. </p><p>"It's Alola's equivalent to Kalos' mega evolution and Galar's dynamax," she said. "It affects a Pokémon's moves rather than their appearance." </p><p>"Z-moves require the use of a z-ring," it said. "What we have given you is a material used in making them." </p><p>"You're not saying I have to…?" </p><p>"No," it said, floating by her. "You must bring this stone to the kahuna of another island. They will know what to do once you hand it over." </p><p>"Is this mine?" </p><p>"You are carrying it for Hau. He will receive the resulting z-ring." </p><p>"...Got it," she said. "I'll keep it safe." </p><p>"Good," Koko said. It floated to the perimeter of their shared spotlight. "Do you know why I asked you to sit here, Sam?" </p><p>"I don't unless you planned to show me what it was like for Hau to almost die."</p><p>"If you are to get anywhere in life," it said, "you must learn to take risks. Do not waste another ten years doing nothing." It spun to her. <em> "UNDERSTAND?"  </em></p><p>"Ye-ye-yes!" she yelled, her eyes widening at its rapid motion and change of tone. "Yes, tapu."</p><p>"Two more things before I leave," Koko said. "You know of Cosmog. Therefore, you, Hau, the one known as Lillie, and those in Lillie's inner circle are responsible for its wellbeing. Keep it from getting into trouble as it did the other day." </p><p>"Yes, tapu," Sam said. "We will." </p><p>It nodded back. "Do not mention anything we have spoken of to Hau."</p><p>She frowned. "Why not?"</p><p>"He has potential. I wish to see him grow without his past or his grandfather's shadow hovering over him." </p><p>"I understand," she said. "I'll do my best." <em> I… I guess. </em> With that thought, she pocketed Hau's stone. Her pocket sagged when the new item dinged against her trainer card. </p><p>Tapu Koko flew off. "Farewell, Sam," it called. "I will return once he has completed his first trial."</p><p>"Thanks," she shouted after it. "Fo-for everything!" </p><p><em> It saved my life… </em>Sam watched it go and the light it conjured over them fade. It rescued her just like it did in the games. While it caused her to look down on herself, it must have <em>some</em> faith in her. </p><p>Was she truly the protagonist, or was she meant to be the hero's guide? All she knew was that this situation was her fault. She would fix it by dragging Hau out of this small town by the ear if she had to. She would help him succeed in whatever came his way. </p><p>"Let's get back to the house," Sam told Hariyama. "I've got some work to do." </p><p>She left the trail once again. Determination and anticipation poured from each of her steps. She even discovered she was taking in deep breaths through her nose and out her mouth to maintain this renewed state. </p><p>There was no reason to be afraid. She couldn't be scared when she had Siren and the others at her side. They would pull through the future together. <em> …I hope.  </em></p><hr/><p>"Hau?" Sam said. "Are you awake?"</p><p>Surprise, surprise. He was. Hau's feet dangled over the side of his bed and the sandals he kicked off. His hair, free of accessories, dangled past his neck. It was <em> maybe </em> a little shorter than Sam's? She couldn't exactly tell. </p><p>"You're back," he said. </p><p>Her heart did a little flip seeing his eyes light up, if just by a bit. He was looking at her for something. Sympathy? Reassurance? <em> Anything, </em> maybe? </p><p>She balled her hands into fists. Now was not the time to focus on those conflicted feelings. </p><p>"Where'd you go?" Hau asked. "The ladies out there only told me that you "went out"." </p><p>"I wanted to stretch my legs," Sam said, arriving at the end of his bed. "Would you mind if I sat here?" </p><p>His pupils rolled to the top of his head. They came down with him saying, "Go ahead. What time is it?" </p><p>"Somewhere after midnight," she said right when she sat. "I thought you would be asleep until morning." </p><p>He tugged at the blanket on his and brought it all into his lap. "I can't," he said, hugging it. His eyes downcast. "Every time I lay down, I see Tutu getting thrown into that wormhole." </p><p>She sighed in her throat. Here goes nothing.</p><p>"Hau," she said, "I just… I just want you to know something." He didn't speak, which she took as a cue to go on. "It's my fault your gramps was abducted. I brought that phone to this world. If I had just thrown it away… If I went and discarded my past, he would still be here.</p><p>"If you want me to leave, say it. This isn't the first friendship I've somehow screwed up. It certainly wouldn't be the last." </p><p>Curls of her hair passed through her hand. She rolled one of them around her finger and pulled. Her neck was forced to bend with the pressure.</p><p>Hau watched Sam the same as she watched him. She wasn't sure how long they hung around doing this for before he gave up on their staring contest and leaned back.</p><p>"Sammy," he said, "don't put yourself down."</p><p><em> Sammy? </em> Nobody ever used her first name. She even said around him that she preferred… <em> Forget it. </em> She wasn't about to correct a mourning child for a silly slip-up. </p><p>"You didn't screw up anything," he told her. "Nobody knew it would summon Necrozma." </p><p>"You hold nothing against me?"</p><p>"You're innocent," he said. His face fell. "I just wish it never happened. What am I supposed to do now?" </p><p>"Take on your trials?" she suggested. </p><p>"No," he said. He corrected himself, "I mean, yeah. But that's not it." He stared into a dark corner of the room. "How am I supposed to beat my grandfather in a real battle if he's gone missing?" </p><p>Try as she might, she didn't know what to say to a child's dream being crushed. It felt like if she said anything, it would push him further into a depression. He didn't need that, least of all from her. She had never experienced true loss before.</p><p>There was a dresser beside Hau's bed. A couple of unmarked books were piled against a curtained window. Two photo frames with two familiar people had been placed beside them.</p><p>"Is that you?" Sam said, pointing to the one on the left. She couldn't see it too well in the dark. From what she could make out, it was a smiling boy with his hands behind his head. A forest and blue sky served as the photo's backdrop.</p><p>"We took that picture the day I turned eleven," Hau said.</p><p>Next to his image was one of an old man. She could tell where Hau got his smile from. Hala cracked a huge one in his close-up photo. </p><p>"Could you bring that over, please?" Hau asked.</p><p>"Which one?" she said. "You or…" </p><p>"Gramps. Get me the one of my gramps." </p><p>She left Hau to sit alone in his bed once again. After plucking the requested frame from the dresser, Hau's photo stole her interest again. This had been him at an easier time. Perhaps it even came from before he received his Litten? He was way happier here than her mom would be on any given payday. It gave her a nasty twinge in the chest to see it and then find blankness in the real Hau's face. </p><p>When Hala's photo got in Hau's hands, he hugged it close and let out a soft sigh. To Sam's surprise, he grinned along with. It looked like a piece of him had returned.</p><p>Sam allowed a smile to cross her too. She sat down with him once more. They hovered over the picture of Hala together, unmoving and, from what she noticed, Hau barely blinking.</p><p>Eventually, his smile faded. His quiet voice and dismal disposition returned. "The festival's over, you know," he said, hugging the photo frame a second time. "When... Do you think we should hit the road?" </p><p>"Why are you asking me?" she said. </p><p>"You're the adult," he said as if it were that simple.</p><p>She had to pause and think about that for the hundredth time. Was she a kid, or somebody trapped in a kid's body who did have something to bring to the table? Did it matter beyond real ages at this point? Although she guessed if she had any real romantic interest in someone, which would <em> never </em> happen, they <em> would </em> have to discuss it further.</p><p>She would have gagged from the thought of flirting with people of either side of the age spectrum if it weren't for Hau sitting across from her and waiting for her response. He looked at her expectantly, like she had the answers to everything in the universe. Or maybe that was friendship talking? </p><p>
  <em>I'm clearly in need of some lessons in friendship. </em>
</p><p>For her, and for now, the tapu had a task for her. While she worked on that, she <em> was </em> going to watch over this boy's shoulder, and she <em> was </em>going to make sure neither of them fell off a cliff again. </p><p>"Maybe," Sam said. "Maybe not. But don't make <em> me </em> make the decisions for you. This is <em> your </em> adventure we're embarking on. Not mine. <em> You're </em>in charge.</p><p>"Me? I'm just here to help in any way I can."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I'll be honest, this was mostly written throughout an afternoon. I'm not sure how noticeable it is in the text, but I just wanted to get it out of the way. Any sort of critique I could use to go back and improve would be nice.</p><p>Updates from here on out may be more spaced out. </p><p>See you next time!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Just Hau</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em> "How am I supposed to beat my gramps in a real battle if he's gone missing?" </em>
</p><p>Hau couldn't get that one question to leave him alone. He sat in the mirror and let it keep echoing over and over and over in his head. Meanwhile, he tinkered with his hair clips in the sink. He couldn't find it in him to scoop them out.</p><p><em> 'But you always wear those,' </em>people would say. They would be right. Days were rare where, outside of coming and going from his bathroom, others saw him not donning them. Why would he hesitate to put them on now? </p><p>Would it be a surprise to anyone if he admitted the reason was his gramps? Hau grew anxious the longer he let his hair sit as it always did. His reflection and he made eye contact.</p><p>
  <em>If he's gone, what do I do now?  </em>
</p><p>"Hau, are you going to be in there much longer? You've got visitors." </p><p>He blinked. Guests? This early in the morning? More likely than anyone would think. What was the time Sam told him when he first woke up? </p><p>He groaned when he finally recalled it. <em> Five a.m. </em> It sure didn't help that he couldn't sleep as if his life depended on it. </p><p>"Hau?" Sam said again. </p><p>"I'll be out in a sec," he said. "Okay?"</p><p>"A second? You've already been there for an hour. What are you doing? Having an intense staredown with the mirror?"</p><p>She didn't land far off the mark. What much else could he do in a bathroom after taking care of his basic needs? Brush his teeth after he missed the opportunity to last night? Take a <em> second </em> shower? Maybe watch his stuff roll around into the sink bowl? That sounded like a good time, right? </p><p>Not to him it did. He needed to call in back-up.</p><p>"Hey, Sam?" Hau asked.</p><p>"Yeah?" she said. </p><p>"I need your opinion on something." </p><p>The doorknob shuddered. He could sense her hesitation. </p><p>"I-I'm dressed," he said, "i-if that's what you're worried about."</p><p>The door swung open. Sam, like him, wore the same clothes she had been for the second day in a row. She leaned on the frame.</p><p>He winced. "I thought," he said, "I locked…" He sure thought he did. The last time someone walked in on the opposite gender, it ended with a lot of screeching and apologizing. Since then it became a silent rule to make sure you had locked yourself inside.</p><p>A peculiar addition compelled him to survey Sam's neck. She tugged at her new green bandanna. "Alola," she said. "Like it?" </p><p>"Why are you wearing a…?" Where did she even find that? Had it belonged to his gramps'?</p><p>"It looks cool," she said, letting the bandanna slip between her fingers. "Why haven't you fixed your hair?" </p><p>Hau fetched a hair clip from the sink. Its ends dug into his pointer finger and thumb.</p><p>Sam shut the door behind her and joined him in the mirror. For the first, and maybe not last, time, her height confounded him. She barely reached his shoulders. </p><p>"Why are you looking at me funny?" she said.</p><p><em> Whoops. </em> He should have stopped staring a long time ago. "I'm having trouble with this," he said, showing her one of his clips in the mirror. </p><p>She stole its twin. "Let me guess," she said, spinning it around. "This is connected to Hala? Or your gramps. Or Tutu. The old man's got a lot of names." </p><p>Was his problem that obvious? "How did you—"</p><p>"We can't brush off what happened last night," she said. The clip's backstrap snapped over her finger. "He's an important man. I would be worried if his disappearance <em> wasn't </em> affecting you." </p><p>"I've always put my hair up the way he does," Hau said. "I like it. But this morning…" </p><p>She freed her finger from the fastener and let the clip return to the sink. "When you love someone very much, you tend to notice small things that remind you of them. Especially once they're gone." She next retrieved his hair tie. "You're scared of wearing these because you don't want to deal with the pain they may bring." </p><p>He gawked at her mirror image. Not that he doubted her or anything, but since when did she give guidance? Maybe he was wrong about her "weirdness". </p><p>"If it hurts to copy his style," Sam said, "would you be willing to try something new?"</p><p>He brushed through his hair. Whatever happened to his friend, he could use her advice about now. "I'm not sure," he mumbled.</p><p>"I'm biased. I never put my hair up. My neck feels bare if nothing is there. Not to mention it helps fight off the cold."</p><p>"We don't get cold weather here." </p><p>She swept her hair over a shoulder. "So see reason one for why I usually don't mess with it." </p><p>Hau refocused on her neckline and green scarf. "You're wearing that," he said, pointing it out to her. "It's gotta not feel empty anymore." He fished for his hair tie and stretched it as far as his fingers could go. The string trembled under the pressure. </p><p>Sam's plethora of curls splayed all over her shoulder and neck. They crisscrossed in ways telling him that she hadn't brushed them yet. Did he ever give her a brush? She could use one. There must be a spare he could give her hiding someplace. Or, hey… Maybe she could put her hair up until he found her one. Now <em> there </em> was an idea. </p><p>"Could I see something?" he said. "Turn around." </p><p>Her tossed glare through the glass got his heart thumping. She already figured out his motive. The way she brushed her hair behind her was her way of rejecting the request.</p><p>"Please?" he said. "You could take it off if you don't like it." </p><p>It could be him getting nervous, but he saw a loud and angry storm brewing within Sam's head as she turned from the mirror and to him. Her eyebrows creased. She could unleash that storm if he made a bad move. </p><p>"It's fine if you don't," Hau said, brisker than he imagined his response being.</p><p>Her head slanted sideways. The storm in her facial features intensified. </p><p>He gulped. No way could that bold a good thing. "W-we could go back to discussing me." 'Cause gee, he sure dragged them out of that discussion. His curiosity got the better of him. "I noticed you haven't brushed it and…"</p><p>Sam stared into the mirror again. "I have to say," she said. "You have a way of making me feel awful." </p><p><em> What?! </em> Aw, man. There was no way he could be <em> that </em> bad. </p><p>Her expression cooled. "Look at yourself. I meant that in a good way. You're a sweet kid."</p><p>Was that her attempt at teasing him? Because it worked. His whole face flushed. Her calling him <em>sweet?</em> <em>What?</em> And did she call him a <em>kid? </em></p><p>"I'm just Hau," he said.</p><p>She leaned on the sink. He blinked, which was long enough for her to start bundling her messy hair. "Well," she said. "Just <em> Hau </em>about you tie a low ponytail back there? I want to feel it swing."</p><p>She wasn't going to stop with the Hau puns. She may <em> never </em> stop with the Hau puns. Her phantom of a grin was almost as alien to him as those blue people. </p><p>"Be thankful it was that and not another stupid reference," Sam said. "There are habits I want to break and being deliberately out of place is one of them." </p><p>After a small speech like that, all he could muster was a befuddled, "You sure?" </p><p>Her handmade ponytail wiggled at him. "Yep. Go right ahead."</p><hr/><p>Hau gave Sam's hair a light tug. It still had him perplexed. Who knew someone could be so sloppy when it came to maintaining themself. He had half a mind to take a scissor and chop off her split ends.</p><p>"I'm not surprised," she said after this opinion was voiced. "My appearance never mattered to me beyond my weight." </p><p>Sam's stiff shoulders gave him a different story. Something about either one of their comments bothered her. It made sliding the tie on easy, though. </p><p>He scanned her hair for a decent place to wrap it together and found it in the middle of her neck. He guided the band into that spot. Thing is, he never anticipated her to shudder. Neither did he expect her to yank her arm on top of his. </p><p>His knuckles throbbed for some reason. He released the ponytail he made. "Ow!" he yelped, cradling his hand.</p><p>Sam leaned on the sink. She donned a pang of regret directed to their mirrored counterparts. "I'm sorry," she squeaked. Her pricked expression disappeared underneath a frown. "I didn't mean to do that." </p><p>Hau saved his hair tie from the floor. "We don't have to mess with it if you don't want to." </p><p>"Bu-but I…" </p><p>"Yeah?" </p><p>Sam gathered her hair. "No, let's do this," she said, whipping the ends in his direction. "I'll hold it while you tie." She skidded close to her curls, moved them up a bit, stopped, and squeezed it concurrently. That would be where she wanted the ponytail. </p><p>Sliding the tie back in, he asked, "What was that all about?" </p><p>"I don't want to talk about it."</p><p>He got to the spot she suggested. "You sure?" he said, taking hold of her hair. He focused on wrapping it up. </p><p>"It's fine. Are you almost done?" </p><p>He jerked the other end of the tie past her curls and dropped the bind. The entire thing swung into her back. </p><p>Sam twisted her neck to get a view of her new hairstyle. She turned from the mirror.</p><p>"You can take it out whenever you want," Hau said. </p><p>She brushed tiny clumps of loose hairs he didn't catch behind her ears and over her shoulders. "I'll leave it in for a little while," she said. "Thank you." </p><p>The bathroom door reverberated from a series of thumps. The doorknob wobbled.</p><p>"What's taking you two so long?" a familiar voice called from the other side. That couldn't be… <em> The professor? </em></p><p>"We'll be out in a minute," Sam shouted. Lowering her voice, she said to Hau, "You'll have to decide what you're doing with your hair. We can't keep the others waiting."</p><hr/><p>"There they are." </p><p>Hau brushed excess strands out of his eyes as he arrived in the seating area.</p><p>Across from him, sitting on the couch Sam made her bed, was Professor Kukui. He sat up, adjusting his sunglasses along the way, and leaned forward. "Everything's alright, cousins?" he said. "We've been waiting a while." </p><p><em> We? </em> Okay, well, Sam did say they had <em> visitors. </em> As in <em> several. </em> In the armchair closest to the bathroom sat a girl his age clothed in white. She hugged a trembling bag at her side.</p><p>The pink-haired guy in the room dashed any hope of sitting down. He leaned forward cupping his knees.</p><p>"Mr. Ilima?" Hau said. </p><p>He nodded. "Greetings," he said, waving his hands in the traditional Alolan greeting, <em> "Captain </em>Ilima here." </p><p>Melemele's only trial captain was visiting him. He shouldn't be surprised, even if Hala and Ilima never interacted much outside of Ilima's appointment. </p><p>Sam's arms flopped down after she returned the sweeping greeting gesture. Her attempt wasn't bad for someone who just came to the region. He would be able to see her face if she moved her arms a bit more.</p><p>"Alola," she said. "Sorry to keep you all waiting." </p><p>"Not a problem," Ilima said, nodding at her. "How is—" He gestured straight ahead at the apparent subject of their conversation. "Hau?" That was an unintentional pun. He could let it slide. </p><p>"...Alola," Hau said.</p><p>Ilima left his seat. Sam stepped out of his way to give him a clear path. "I can't imagine this is easy," Ilima began, walking up to Hau. "Hala is your grandfather. He means the most to you out of all of us." </p><p>Hau's chin drooped. </p><p>"Hala appointed me as a trial captain," Ilima said. "It's a position I've taken pride in since." </p><p>No surprises there. Tourists could be asking him where to go in the city and he would first respond by flaunting his title. He did it even with those he already knew. Hau still couldn't decide if him doing it all the time was funny.</p><p>"Your grandfather is a nice man," Sam said. "I'm grateful he let me stay here." </p><p>She became friends with the kahuna's only family. It wouldn't look good for Hala to turn her away after their little adventure on the trail. Perhaps other Alolans would have shown her the same hospitality he did?</p><p>"Nebby is usually afraid of strangers," Lillie chimed in. "It liked Hala." </p><p>Nebby popped out of her bag. <em> "Pew!" </em>it cried, blinking its beady yellow eyes. </p><p>What Pokémon <em> didn't </em>like Hala? ...Except Necrozma. Necrozma hated everybody. It must have hated Hala the most after their battle. </p><p>"He's done much for Melemele since he became the kahuna," Professor Kukui said. "Hau'oli City would be a much smaller place if he hadn't pushed for the island to modernize while keeping its traditions intact."</p><p>One amongst their gathering buried his head in his hands. He sniffled in the darkness.</p><p>"Hau," Sam mumbled. </p><p>Somebody draped their arm over him. They pressed on his back as if nudging him along. And while they did, he fought the rising heat in his tear ducts. </p><p>"I'm sorry for what happened," Ilima said. "If I attended the festival as he asked…" </p><p>"It's meaningless to dwell on the past," Kukui said, shaking his head.</p><p>"Right. Thinking of how you could have changed the past helps no one. Hala and the others did the best they could to drive off that beast."</p><p>"You should know that thing you keep calling a beast has a name," Sam said. "Necrozma."</p><p>Ilima had been guiding Hau forward. The older teen started to push on his shoulder. "You look unsteady. Sit down." </p><p>Hau allowed his sense of sight to return. Numerous foodstuffs layered the center table. Packets tagged with a fluffy pink Pokémon faced his way. <em> Malasadas. </em>Hehe… They figured they would cheer him up with his favorite food. </p><p>"What's up, Lillie?" Kukui said. "Did you see a ghost?" </p><p>An astonished-looking Lillie swaddled Nebby in her arms. "I-I've noticed the name Necrozma before in my reading. It's said to be a Pokémon prone to anger and violence." </p><p>"Tell me about it," Sam said. "I witnessed its rage first-hand when it got ahold of me." </p><p>Lillie gasped. "O-oh my…" she said, covering her astonishment with a palm. "Are you alright?" </p><p>"This is news to me as well," Ilima said, turning on Sam. "It doesn't appear to have hurt you." </p><p>"My back is all bruised from when it threw me," she said. She reached back and traced a spot. It appeared to be the same area Hau poked back in the bathroom. He figured his guess to be right when she cringed. </p><p>"Why didn't you say anything?" Hau said, collapsing into the seat behind him. The fabric warmed his bare skin. Ilima might have been here for a time. </p><p>"The pain stopped right after the encounter," Sam said. "Humans here are a hell of a lot tougher than they are back home. I seem to have gotten that trait. So I figured it wasn't a big deal—" </p><p>He leaned over his armrest. If this was Sam being Sam, he wasn't liking that response coming from her. Did she not care for her well-being? "Necrozma went after you first. It hurt you, just like it hurt my gramps. What if it decided it wasn't finished with you after throwing him in the wormhole? What if it…" <em> What if she… </em></p><p><em> No, no, no! </em>There was no way in a million years he could imagine others being hurt. He wanted nothing to do with those murky feelings. </p><p>"Necrozma harmed you more than it ever could mistreat the rest of us." </p><p>Lillie was the individual amongst them to speak those words. The attention the rest of the room provided her caused her to shrink further into her seat. This concealed a concerned and <em> "pew"ing </em> Nebby under her thin arms.</p><p>"True," Kukui said, turning away. "Hala is a grandfather first and a kahuna second. Necrozma stole a part of Hau's childhood." </p><p>Sam sighed. "You have the cushions, professor. Feel free to throw one at me if what I'm about to say is inappropriate." Her arms restrained her between Hau's and Lillie's seats. "That son of a bit—" </p><p>The rest of her words were muffled beneath a pillow thrown over the table. She ripped it off her face and glared in the general direction it was thrown from.</p><p>"Don't give me that face," Professor Kukui said. "You asked for it, yeah?"</p><p>"Fine," she grumbled. "I shouldn't have gone straight for cursing. I guess that's what happens when you're raised in a family of sailor's mouths.</p><p>"The kid has the right to have his dignity preserved. He deserves that much." There she went calling him a kid again. He wasn't…</p><p>"What happened?"</p><p>Nobody understandably discerned Hau's question. Kukui straight-up asked, "Something's up, Hau?"</p><p>"Why do you keep calling me a kid?" Hau said, concentrating on Sam. "You've been treating me like an equal. Suddenly Tutu's gone and you're—" </p><p>"You called me an adult," she said. "I guess that's what I have to be."</p><p>That's what it was? He thought he had been helping a pal, not a woman. It stung like a load of pin missiles digging into his skin to hear his fear be put into wording. She couldn't have chosen a worse response.</p><p>"I've been alone this whole time?" he whispered.</p><p>"It's not like that," she said. "What it is—" </p><p>"You're not a kid, you're another—"</p><p>"Hau, you're jumping to conclusions—" </p><p>"Yourself," he finished. "You're pushing me away." </p><p>A soft thump echoed through the living room. Sam grunted. One moment, she was standing over Hau. Her shadow overlapped his. The next, she clung to a second pillow. This must have been another of the ones Kukui had been in charge of. She appeared to be caught unaware by its appearance. </p><p>Kukui laid back on the couch. </p><p>She pressed the pillow to her chest and shoulders. Creases formed in the fabric, which only got larger the more she squeezed them. Her feet pulled her from the group's circle. </p><p>"Get it together," she murmured, walking past Hau's seat. "Let's think straight." She stopped at some steps at the back of the room. Steps there led to a throne made from old tree bark he didn't know the name of. A fading teal cushion sank into the seat from years of Hala sitting on it. </p><p>Sam paced the perimeter of the steps. The floor creaked in sync with her strides. Her new ponytail slapped her on the back.</p><p>"What is she doing?" Lillie asked. </p><p>Ilima followed Sam's pacing. "Looks like a coping mechanism," he said. "I'm guessing she's not one for conflict." </p><p>"She was on the verge of losing it," the professor said. "Which is why I threw her the pillow." </p><p><em> She's overwhelmed? </em> Hau hadn't noticed any distress. They argued. Then she decided to walk off. </p><p>That sounded wrong to him. They had <em> argued? </em> He winced. What had he done? <em> I hope she doesn't see me as anything else after this… </em></p><p>
  <em> "Peeeeew?"  </em>
</p><p>Lillie gasped and uncrossed her empty arms. "Where are you going, Nebby?" </p><p>Nebby caught up to Sam, who turned around after reaching the other end of the stairs. She saw it coming and bent down to meet it. </p><p>"What are you doing over here?" she asked.</p><p>Cosmog waved its ears around. It closed the gap between them.</p><p>Sam looked at Lillie. After getting no reaction out of her beyond a vague risen eyebrow, Sam reached for Nebby. The ball of sparkly fluff was placed on her pillow. </p><p>"Hey," she said, slumping on the steps. "Came over to check on me?" </p><p>
  <em> "Pew!"  </em>
</p><p>"Th-thanks, I guess." </p><p>Light flared to Sam's left. Out of it came her Popplio. Siren hurled her flippers into Sam's lap and barked. </p><p>Sam brushed Siren's head. "You too, girl. Thank you." </p><p>Siren climbed into Sam's lap and on the pillow alongside Nebby. The trio united in a group hug. </p><p>"Um, hey there."</p><p>Hau had decided to sneak into their little party while they were distracted and stayed on the opposite of the steps to give them space. Sam probably needed him to give her that. </p><p>His team too left their poké balls. Pancake zipped to Hau's shoulder. Litten laid on the step above them rubbing a moistened paw on his whiskers. </p><p>Sam sighed. Siren and Nebby pulled away so she could meet him face-to-face. "Yes?"  What grabbed him was the smile on her lips and surplus water in her sights. Her fingers wrapped around her eyes to cover them. </p><p>"You okay?" Hau asked. </p><p>She looked away and gasped. This same breath went out of her nostrils. She did it again. It too left through her nose. </p><p>"I'm fine," she said. </p><p>Air entered and exited her lungs for the third time. The breathing she was doing must have been part of a cooldown. </p><p>"Perseverance," she mumbled. "You've lived through worse than some disagreement…" Some more mumbling went with this. He picked up the piece, "...May not be determined, but persevering…" She laughed. "Just as good. Maybe even better." </p><p>None of this made sense to him. Although, since when did half of the things she spewed make sense to him? He decided to roll with it. "What you're saying is...?"</p><p>"I've had to endure a lot. Perseverance is when you weather the storm until you are given the chance to strike. How else would I have lasted so long in college, or dealt with daily insanity, or anything with an oftentimes unknown initiative?" Her mouth twinged.</p><p>"Everything is different when your stakes are set higher," she said. "There's no way in hell I wish to see you be upset. Is <em> age </em>what you want to stop you from keeping a friend around?" </p><p>"What I'm bothered by is you calling me a kid. I'm just Hau. I want to be just Hau." </p><p>"You want me to treat you as an equal, you mean? You want me to do away with the "kid" stuff. If that's the case, why did you call me an adult last night? Isn't that hypocritical?" </p><p>"I called you one because you have a lot more life experience than me," Hau said. "You know what you're doing." </p><p>She shook her head. "Are you sure? I've been hiding out in my grandparents' house for <em> years. </em>Any social events I've gone to have left me—" </p><p>"What are you talking about? You were awesome during our public battle! I got distracted by the crowd." </p><p>Litten hissed. Hau's fingers grazed the fur on his head. </p><p>"Sorry for not looking after you, bud," Hau said. "We'll have a lot more fun when I don't have so much on my mind." </p><p>Litten turned his face away. He glared at seemingly nothing. A second hand appeared and stroked his whiskers. </p><p>"We should have another battle soon," Sam said to Litten as she leaned over him. "A proper one. You and Pancake could use some toughening up before you tackle your first trial." </p><p>That sounded great and all, sure. Maybe for <em> her. </em> Hau asked, "Why would I need to be "tougher"? The island trials are supposed to be fun." </p><p>"Sure," she said dryly, "if you want to call getting your butt whooped <em> fun." </em> She hugged Siren and Nebby again. "Yes, I know you want to have fun, but you're a trainer. Trainers take battling seriously because they don't know when their life may depend on it." She stared straight at him. "And trust me, I've played enough <em> Pokémon </em> to know when a return to how life was before <em> depends </em> on you crushing the competition."</p><p>He shook his head. What was she expecting him to do? Storm a team base like those ultra famous trainers in far-off regions? Alola was a peaceful place. He would <em> never </em> have to do such a thing. "Do I look like the kind of guy to get involved in something that dangerous?" </p><p>Some ball of fluff rolled into his lap. It looked around confused. </p><p>"You seem to be forgetting what you did for Nebby," Sam said. "Keep that up and we'll have you whooping a legendary Pokémon's sorry… <em> Butt </em> soon enough."</p><p>"What if I told you a little story about a girl your age who spammed healing items until the opponent ran out of usable moves? Because she was an <em> absolute </em> dumbass. She often only properly trainer <em> one </em>Pokémon and she thought defensive and status moves were useless—" </p><p>A pillow flew out of nowhere and hit Sam. The look on her when it slid off? Priceless. Hau chuckled at her dropping jaw behind his Pichu-shaped shield.</p><p>Sam shook off her astonishment and began glaring at the chairs. "Why <em> thank you, </em>Professor."</p><p>Kukui shrugged at Hau. He started a quieter conversation with Ilima, who seemed to be getting uncomfortable in his new seat. </p><p>Nebby, Siren, and Pancake left the two trainers. They congregated around Litten. From there, they fell into a quiet conversation of "pews", cat throat rumbling, barking, and other Pokémon noises Hau couldn't make heads-or-tails of.</p><p>"I want to see you become a good trainer," Sam said. "If not because I asked you to or what I'm afraid of what may happen in the future, do it for Hala's sake." </p><p>Get stronger for his gramps? That was <em> sort of </em>like getting stronger to beat him. "You want me to get tougher to…" </p><p>"We're going to find a way to save Hala. For that to happen, you need to become strong enough to fight Necrozma. I may not be the best trainer. It would be <em> insane </em> if I ended up getting into competitive battling one day." Sam pinched the skin around her eyes. "Who am I kidding? That would never happen. </p><p>"We'll find Necrozma. We'll bring the kahuna home before the tapu gets it in its head to replace him. It's the least I can do for a fri—" </p><p>Hau swallowed Sam in a big hug. <em> "Yes," </em> he said. He would do <em> anything </em>to get his gramps back. Necrozma could get in the way of the rescue. They would find a way to beat it should it do that. </p><p>Sam wheezed. She pressed on Hau's arms. "You're crushing me…" </p><p>He let her go. "Okay, let's do it," he said. "I wanna get out there and save him." </p><p>"I-I'm coming too!"</p><p>Lillie dashed over grabbing at the large bag on her shoulder. She looked between Hau and Sam. </p><p>"Lillie?" Hau said.</p><p>"I want to join you on your adventure," Lillie said. "Nebby needs help finding where it belongs." She focused on Sam. "You're our only lead. Please, if there's anything you can tell us about Cosmog…"</p><p>Sam nodded. She stole Nebby from the chattering Pokémon. "Go right ahead. If there's one thing I know, it's Pokémon species." She handed it to her. "Never ask me anything related to Galar, though. I know nothing about the region or its Pokémon other than that Champion Leon has a Chariz—"</p><p>Hau coughed. </p><p>She deflated. "Fine, I'll stop," she said. "Lillie? Please don't run away if I start nerding out over something you don't understand. Because I can, and I <em> will </em> start spewing nonsense if nobody shuts me up." </p><p>A hand patted Hau on the shoulder. He followed its length to Sam. </p><p>"With that out of the way, let's get prepped for the journey," she said. "If you find an extra bag I could use, let me know. I'm not stupid to believe we'll only need our Pokémon to survive out there on the road." </p><p>He started to get to his feet. </p><p>"One last thing?" the professor called.</p><p>Hau nodded. <em> Go ahead. </em></p><p>"We've got your back, cousin. You can talk to any of us if you're feeling down." </p><p>Ilima folded his arms. "You're not alone in your grief," he said. </p><p>"We're all friends here, no matter who or what we are," Sam added. </p><p>"You're, um…" Lillie said right before balking. </p><p>Sam handed Nebby to her. </p><p>"You don't have to say anything if you," Kukui said.</p><p>Lillie shook her head. "Thank you again for your help the other day. I know we haven't interacted much since I came here. I hope to see that change." </p><p>"Are you only tagging along to get information out of me?" Sam said. </p><p>"I don't just want to find out what Nebby is," she said. "I want to know if there's anything I could do to help it thrive."</p><p>With this, Sam's eyebrows went up. She didn't comment, though the reaction left Hau wondering what set it off. Mayhaps he would find out later.</p><p>"Best for you three to get ready," Kukui said. </p><p>"Let's do this," Sam said, raising a fist. "Yeah?" </p><p>"Yeah," Hau said.</p><p>The professor pumped his arm. <em> "YEAH!" </em>His yell echoed through the living room. </p><p>It was even enough for Sam to grab her ears and sink into her knees. "For Christ's sake. Ow…"</p><p>He laughed heartily. "Sensitive ears?" </p><p>The kitchen door opened. An older dark-skinned man, a student of Hala's who also utilized his talent as a chef, took a peek at their assembly. He didn't seem to appreciate the screaming either.</p><p>Sam now appeared annoyed by the earlier question. "I like my hearing. I'd love it to stay that way. Can you <em>p</em><em>lease </em>never yell like that again?"</p><p>Everyone else laughed at her expense, which got her to dig her face in her arms. She sighed.</p><p>The chef fled back into the kitchen. Hau cracked the first grin he had all morning as he watched him go. </p><p><em>We're gonna come save you, Tutu. </em>No matter what stood in their way. Right after that, Hau would prove to him that he could do something that couldn't be done before by another person he used to know. He would fight Hala in a full-fledged battle, and <em> he would win.</em></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I'm feeling unmotivated to continue right now. Feedback on what I have would be appreciated, as I can sort of tell when I'm not being consistent in quality. But I would understand if I got nothing of the sort since this chapter is being posted in the middle of the holiday season.</p><p>If anyone sees this, perhaps they could stop by my profile for an announcement I want to make regarding my writing for future fanfics? I need to get out of my shell but want to do it in a way comfortable to me. So please check it out. </p><p>See you next time.</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm sick of this work. It hasn't lived up to my stupid expectations of me and itself and I hate how the writing degrades as it goes on. Compound it with me becoming upset and jealous whenever people stopped following or disliked it without saying *anything* on sites like Reddit... It was a recipe for disaster. I know nobody is under any obligation to talk to me about what I do, but I still feel the sting whenever I see numbers drop and I can't stop myself from reading stats.</p><p>A copy of this fic with an author name attached is still up on FFN. You can go ahead and check that out. But I will not respond to reviews or PMs anyone sends my way. I'm moving on to other ideas elsewhere. </p><p>I regret trying to come back and improve upon the stories I had before. Seeing Red flopped because I found what I had to remaster bad enough that I couldn't go back to it. And this one just screwed up after Chapter 2 thanks to the FMC's ruminating on her past and Hau not feeling like himself. </p><p>Be seeing you elsewhere.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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